


I Will Carry You

by Lansfics7



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adjusting, Adopted?, Aftermath of Torture, Always Keep Fighting, And i hate him, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Awesome Pepper Potts, BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF Tony Stark, Before Steve was a jerk, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, General Ross is a jerk, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Peter, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), Hydra Peter Parker, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, If you only read one work by me, Implied/Referenced Torture, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Kidnapped Peter Parker, Loss of Parent(s), Lots of Laughs, Maybe - Freeform, Mental Health Issues, Must Read, Ned and Peter friendship, Nightmares, Normal Life, Pain, Parent Tony Stark, Past Torture, Peter Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker has PTSD, Peter Parker is a Mess, Peter is Not Impressed, Poor Life Choices, Pre-Civil War (Marvel), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Psychological Torture, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sarcasm, Sassy Peter, Sorry I'm team Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, This is my fav fic I've ever written, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Trouble, You are not alone, enjoy, mj and peter - Freeform, never give up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:59:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 257,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21815551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lansfics7/pseuds/Lansfics7
Summary: Tony Stark goes on a mission with the Avengers to infiltrate a discovered HYDRA base. He has orders to kill everyone involved with the operation and he plans to follow those...until he comes across a 16 year old kid with curly brown hair and brown eyes who has spent the last 9 years as HYDRA's prisoner. Instead, Tony helps him escape and they slowly grow closer. But Peter can't truly escape his past; it seems to follow him wherever he goes and put the people he cares about in danger.
Comments: 843
Kudos: 1099
Collections: Lost and Found Irondad Fics, The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics, The Best of the Best MCU Fics





	1. Names Hold Power

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stiltsrosko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stiltsrosko/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooooo lovely people <3 I'm so tired haha  
> Back againnnnn! Sooner than expected, i know XD  
> I really hope you enjoy this, I'm not wasting anytime I got right into it lol. I'm trying something new and I really hope you all enjoy it. These will be shorter chapters than normal (although every time I say that they aren't so we'll see) but at least this one is. I really hope you enjoy! I don't want to give much away, so I won't say much else. Dive in!

"Come on, I'm gonna be the next Tony Romo. We've even got the same first name," Tony laughed, throwing the football to Steve who catches it and throws it back.

Wanda is curled up on the couch with a blanket, deeply focused in her reading and he lofts the ball in a perfect arc, hoping it lands on top of the book. Red magic suddenly surrounds the ball an inch before it crashes into her. She looks up and raises an eyebrow at Tony who immediately points at Steve. 

"He did it," Tony announces. 

Clint claps twice, biting his piece of toast and holding out his now empty hands to signal he's open. As a result, the ball shoots across the room, hitting him hard in the chest. He shakes out the sting in his hand and throws it to Natahsa who catches it with one hand and tosses it behind her back. Tony whistles.

"Nat's got some skill," Clint whoops. 

"Just showing the boys how it's done," Nat says, hopping up on a bar stool. She grabs some bread, a knife, and peanut butter and starts making a sandwich. "I'm not taking requests. You all have hands," she calls out, just in time too; three people were about to ask if she could make them one.

"Maybe we're just lazy," Rhodey says. At the sound of his voice, Tony throws the ball to his best friend who had just become visible as he closed the fridge.

"We should all go pro," Clint announces. "With my arm, Cap's speed, Tony's ability to pay for everything and annoy the crap out of any defender-"

"Woah, easy there Legolas, you're gonna hurt yourself thinking up insults," Tony grinned. Clint faked a throw at him making Tony duck, grinning. 

"Guys," Sam said suddenly, entering the room with a serious expression. He completely missed the football that sailed over his head and the ball promptly crashed into a vase. 

"This is why we don't have nice things," Tony announced, trying to easy the tension. 

"I just got off the phone with Ross," Sam said. Everyone's smiles fell and audible chairs turned as they all faced their friend who had just sobered the room. The abandoned football spun on the floor in the hall, forgotten in the pile of broken glass.

"They found it, didn't they?" Bucky said quietly from the corner of the room. Steve shot him a look.

"Did they Sam? Did they find the location?" Natasha repeated slowly, moving her untouched sandwich aside; she suddenly wasn't hungry. 

For the past 5 months they had been trying to discover a disclosed location of one of the most elite HYDRA bases still in existence- the only known one still active in North America. The other, which turned out to be the Ideal Federal Savings Bank had been compromised long ago. The presence of HYDRA in the US has been going on long enough. Getting rid of their bases in America would be the first step to making sure every tie to that organization went under.

"Yeah, they did. We have ten minutes," he said firmly. "Ross has already fired up one of Tony's private jets. The coordinates are set inside."

"See this is what I don't get," Tony rubbed his chin. "It's my private jet, but it's telling me when to leave and it can somehow leave without me? How does that make sense?" he asked, getting up out of his seat, relived to see the smirks on once stone-serious faces. 

He clapped his hands loudly, making some Avengers jump. "Ok, party time is over ladies and gentlemen. Time to work for a living," Tony said, walking past Sam and clapping him on the shoulder, "Good going Debbie."

Sam grinned slightly over his shoulder. Tony went down the hall, jogging down the steps and entering the lab. 

"Alright FRIDAY, show me whatcha got," he rubbed his hands, selecting a suit he had been previously fixing. "This one is the one that won't explode when I fly right?" he asked before shrugging, "Well, I'll figure that out I guess."

_"You reconfigured the wiring last night sir, it's good for use."_

"Great." Tony stepped into it, the suit forming around his body. He flexed his hands, the helmet receding to his neck as he stepped off the platform. Pepper walked by the lab and stopped as he waved her down. Understanding rippled across her face and she hurried down the stairs of the lab to come and meet him in the center of the room.

"They found it, didn't they?" she asked quietly. She set her clipboard and folder down on the nearest desk, moving a strand of gelled hair back into place on his head.

"Yeah..." Tony said, looking back at her weakly. "Yeah, they did."

Pepper nodded and took a deep breath. "Ok, well...we knew this would happen. It's a good thing right, it's a good thing. Just be safe, ok?" she said firmly, wrapping her arms around him. 

Tony held her tightly, before pulling back kissing her. He grinned and mumured against her lips, "When am I not?"

She scoffed, moving away slightly so she could look him in the eye while smirking, "How about that time when you thought it was a good idea to put a mat on the roof so you could shut off power mid flight and see how you could direct your fall?"

"Ok," Tony protested, putting up his hands in defense. "The concept was there and applicable to real life situations-"

Pepper crossed her arms, "And you missed the roof and crashed through the entire first floor and into the garage, shattering the car you were supposed to give the CEO of-"

"Ok, I didn't plan that part," Tony admitted, "but it was more realistic in a sense. Besides, he couldn't even tell the difference with the cars anyway."

"I'm serious, Tony," she said firmly and he pulled her into another hug before she could give him any more examples. 

"I know," he nodded seriously, kissing her on the cheek, "and I will. I promise. I'll be back before you know it."

Pepper rolled her eyes and cupped his cheek. Slowly the helmet came up until only his face was visible, the remaining part ready to be clicked in. 

"Another kiss for good luck?" Tony grinned cheekily. Pepper laughed and closed the helmet over his face, kissing the metal right where his lips would have been before she waved him towards the exit. 

"Get out of here hero," she smiled. 

"You complete me!" Tony called before he blasted down the hallway.

"Let's go over the plan one more time," Cap said firmly, clamping the shield on his back as they started for the jet, crossing the tarmac. 

Tony dropped down beside him, "Everyone on coms?" A chorus of affirmative answers echoed among the group and Tony nodded at Cap. 

"We have orders to kill everyone affiliated with the organization. Is that clear?" Steve said, walking with pace and determination. "HYDRA doesn't keep prisoners. If they do, they are killers as well. This base has gone under our radar for over twenty years. Anyone in there is not savable anymore. They go down. Those are our orders, does everyone understand?"

No one said yes this time, but it was understood.

"Good," Steve said firmly as they all walked up the ramp onto the jet. Clint and Nat slid into the cockpit to lift off. 

"These men don't deserve mercy or a trial. Give them early graves. This is the first step to taking down HYDRA. Make it count," Steve said fiercely, setting his helmet down on the nearest table.

Tony pulled up the blueprints of the base on the touch screen in the center of the jet. He marked two locations with an X and pointed. "One team, with me. Nat, Rhodey, Clint. We're going in the front door. Cap's team is Bucky, Wanda, Vision, and Sam. They will take the back. We hit them strong with both sides and run the place to the ground. Try not to split up if you don't have to, but go in pairs to cover territory. Have at least one person who has shield capability." Tony raised his eyebrows, "Their guns will not be set to stun, I just want to make that clear. Otherwise this would be like making a cake."

"This is a HYDRA base, watch each other's six. They haven't been just coloring all day, we will be met with force," Steve said. 

"Wow, he has a sense of humor," Tony remarked and everyone smirked. "Keep comms on at all times, your SOS signals are already charged, they work even when there is no satellite power so if you are caught in a corner, press it. Someone will come find you," Tony shrugged. "Unless you ate my pop tart yesterday. Clint, you're dead to me," Tony called toward the cockpit. 

"Aw, you don't mean that," Clint called back. 

"You both hear all that?" Cap asked. 

"No, we've just been drowning you guys out," Nat looked over her shoulder and winked. 

Cap grinned and then leaned over the map again. "There are 4 exits. My team will go upstairs- yeah, there's an upstairs, this thing is huge-"

"That's what she said," Tony coughed. Rhodey smirked. 

Cap continued, not giving his joke the recognition it deserved, "My team, we will shut down the exit by using the main tech room. If we get inside we control all the doors. We shut the ones we want, open the ones we want, we run the place. Makes things easier. Tony's team, you all have it a little harder. Gonna require a little bit of force. Heading downstairs takes you underground. The structure is so old that it's actually gonna fall apart. One hit in the wrong direction and you can send a section crumbling down. Do that to the West exit and clear that floor. We meet in the middle when we're done. Any questions?"

Cap nodded at the absence of hands and put on his helmet, "Good."

Tony grinned, "Drop your socks and grab your crocks. We're about to get wet on this ride."

"FBI OPEN UP!" Tony shouted, blowing up the door as he shielded Nat with an arm. She rolled her eyes and he grinned, "Always wanted to do that."

The dust and fire settled, alarms blaring and yells echoing inside the building.

"I'm gonna go say hi," Tony motioned for the team to stay back and entered, immediately getting shot at. He sighed as the bullets uselessly bounced off his suit before sending a missile to detonate in the center of the hallway. The walls exploded, fire erupting into a ball, spiraling down the hall. The walls were charred and crumbled down, and HYDRA agents blasted backward, the entire space in front of them shattering with a deafening bang. 

"All clear for now," he announced as Rhodey entered first, flanked by Nat and Clint who were both at the ready.

"Ears ok guys?" he asked Nat and Clint who were behind him. 

"Just like Budapest all over again," Nat grinned, "eyes on the road." She narrowed her eyes, shooting over Tony's shoulder and taking out a guard at least seventy-five feet away. Tony grinned and turned back around to face the approaching agents that came at the commotion of the detonation.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently," Clint said, taking a shot down the hallway before crouching back behind Rhodey to notch another arrow. 

"You got four on your left," Tony alerted Rhodey, firing with both hands and sending a missile to take care of the group approaching from the perpendicular hall.

"I see them," Rhodey responded, dropping the guards as their bullets bounced harmlessly off his armor. Tony beamed the entire hallway, clearing it within seconds. He walked forward, leading the group, whipping around the corner and aiming down the hallway. He checked the other direction and then asked, "FRIDAY, how we looking?"

_"The stairway is to your left. Group of at least twenty agents approaching from left and right."_

"We've got multiple targets incoming left and right. Estimated about twenty. Stairs are ahead," Tony motioned forward. He and Rhodey took the center of the hallway, back to back, palms out. Natasha sided up against the wall, reloading both of her guns and grinning, holding them at her sides. Clint shouldered the opposite wall, notching a bow. 

The first men rounded the corner, guns raised, pounding feet in synchronized rhythm and Tony and Rhodey opened fire. Despite their beams, the men kept coming and Nat shoved her pistols to the side and attacked the approaching ones hand to hand, flipping one into a wall and knocking another out with a roundhouse kick. She stole a gun and used another man for cover, firing at the approaching guards. 

"Let's wrap this up guys," Clint trapped a man in the wire of his bow and flipped him, shooting an arrow horizontally before dropping to his knees and spinning, kicking out an agent's feet out from under them.

Rhodey and Tony worked effortlessly, moving in perfect sync as they punched and rebounded each other's blasts. Tony shot the final beam at the last man standing and he collapsed to the ground on the pile of his fellow guards. 

Natasha flicked hair out of her face and holstered his pistols, shouldering a new loaded gun, "Finders keepers. That was fun."

Tony grinned, motioning forward, "Stairs. Rhodey take the back. Nat and I will go down, you and Clint cover the entrance." 

"Got it," they nodded. 

"Update Cap for me," Tony asked Rhodey. 

Rhodey nodded, putting a hand to his ear, "Cap? Status?"

 _"Halfway to the main tech room,"_ Cap responded, _"We need a little more time to get to the control room but the exit is down."_

"Tony and Nat are on their way to close the other one," Rhodey said.

 _"Roger."_

"It's Rhodey, actually."

_"Shut up."_

Tony blasted the lock on the door and kicked it off it's hinges. "I'm not one for knocking," he announced. He started down the steps with his palm in front of him, a bright light lit from the center, showing the steps. 

They ran down the steps, Nat raising her gun. Tony spun and beamed a guard down and Nat jumped, kicking another one across the head. She spun and elbowed another, tossing him into Tony who blasted him in the chest. Tony fired at the nearest hanging light, sending it crashing down on top of the three men that were starting forward. Nat lowered her gun. 

"FRIDAY-"

_"Two lefts and a right."_

"Love you girl," Tony grinned. 

"Not sure I feel the same way Tony," Nat teased, shouldering her gun. Tony chuckled. 

"You never were my type Romanoff," Tony joked.

An alarm blared and Tony fired at the door that people were trying to escape out of. "Oh no, I didn't tell you you could leave," Tony said, a missile locking on to each one. Nat stepped backward as they all fired and waited for the missiles to hit their target.

"That was easy," she said, and then followed him down the hallway, leaving the dead agents behind. Nat checked her watch as they got to the door, "We're making good time. Special forces are coming in an hour. Wanted to give us time."

"I may try and convince them not to completely trash the place," Tony admitted. "I could use some of this stuff."

"We could send in a response team after to try and salvage some of the equipment," Natasha suggested, firing without even looking and nailing an approaching agent down the hallway before he could even raise his gun. Tony fired a missile down that hallway, blowing it to shreds. 

They found the exit and Tony felt the wall around the door. Natasha fired at the panel. It sparked and blew up, hanging down off of the stand and swinging in mid air. 

"Not enough; they could break it down," he pointed out. "I'm making sure no one is getting out of here."

"Cap said the structure was close to breaking," Natasha said, looking up and raising her gun to point at a certain spot in the rocky ceiling, "If FRIDAY can tell us where to hit, we can create the avalanche he wanted, closing off the exit for good."

"FRIDAY, work your magic," Tony pleaded, knocking on the walls. 

_"Eight feet up and nine to the right. One XR67 should be enough."_ Tony focused on the spot and brushed his hand over it, rubbing his chin. 

Tony furrowed his eyebrows, "You sure that will do it-"

_"It's as much as I can advice without it being too devastating. The impact radius will only climb. You detonate it and then you need to get upstairs before the entire level caves in."_

"That's it? And the downstairs disintegrates?" Tony marveled, whistling, "Wow, this thing must be weaker than we thought. I can just bring the whole floor down if I chose to."

"As long as we're out of here, I'm cool with that," Natasha laughed. 

"FRIDAY, is anyone else still down here?" Tony asked. 

_"I'm getting multiple heat signatures, yes."_

Tony nodded and then shrugged, "If we collapse the floor, there's no way they're getting out."

Natasha nodded, hefting her gun and motioning towards the direction of the steps, "Let's get it over with."

Tony grinned, "Go." Natasha gave him a look and he rolled his eyes, "Come on, don't be stupid. If this goes south, I'm the one with the suit that can survive the hit. It's gonna be tiny anyway, just this section is gonna crumble."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Ok you egotistical playboy. Have it your way." She hurried back up the steps and Tony waited for her to relay on coms. 

_"Ok, I'm in the stairway, let it rip."_

Tony grinned and fired a missile, immediately starting to back up towards the steps. The room started shaking and Tony stabilized himself with his blasters. The ceiling started to crumble and Tony swerved around the hallway, sharply turning the corner when suddenly everything stopped. 

_"Tony what are you waiting for?"_

Something made him slow to a stop and he hovered, listening, "Something's wrong."

_"What do you mean-"_

"I mean nothing's happening." He turned around, scanning the walls. "FRIDAY, what's going-"

Suddenly there was a huge flash of light and Tony yelled. Then the hallway exploded, sending Tony flying back and slamming into a wall full force, hitting his head with a nauseating crack. He groaned and sat up as the entire room spun and shook, the ceiling crumbling down around him. Tony blasted a section of ceiling before it could hit him, showering him with rocks and pebbles. The floor caved and Tony went tumbling backward, smacking his head again as he rolled down the tilting hallway.

_"TONY!"_

Firing up his boosters, he managed to stabilize himself but not before a section of rock fell right on his ankle. Tony was stuck and he groaned, wincing and squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed his palms against the ground in an effort to raise himself. He blasted his way out and continued to tumble. A rock caught him in the chest and then one on his right leg and Tony hissed, feeling force slam into his back as he was flattened on a pile of rubble. The ceiling caved around him, rumbling pounding in his ears.

_"Ton- what- happen- TONY!"_

"FRIDAY- coms..." Tony said in exhaustion, his head exploding with pain, "NAT! GO! Get out of here- go!" A large section of concrete caught him in the back and Tony's smacked his forehead face first into the rocks beneath him. His vision blurring, he attempted to get out one last time but then he was flattened by a piece of falling rock, pinning him by the shoulder. 

Warnings were flashing in his display, cluttering his vision and making his head hurt. Flashes of light blinked in his eyes and system fails blared in his ears. He groaned, trying to get out only for another piece of rock to cover him. Tony's field of vision was closing but he realized it wasn't just because of his tunnel vision, it was because the world was falling down around him and he was underneath it all, crushed by tons of rocks. Struggling for breath and choking on fresh blood that he had just coughed up, he clenched his fist and fired a blast.

"FRIDAY- activate blow up- back-" he fumbled on his words but luckily is A.I. knew what he meant. All of his missiles detonated on his back and Tony put his hands up to cover his head. The rocks that were covering him blasted off and hit the ceiling.

"Full thrusts," he choked out, bursting through the rock, aiming for the nearest hallway where the world didn't look like it was falling, avoiding the avalanche of rocks that piled, crushing the spot where he just was. Tony lost control of his boosters, hitting the corner of a wall and spinning off of it, flying through another wall, smashing right through it. He hit the ground and started tumbling, becoming lost in the darkened hallway. Skidding to a stop he hit the far wall and smacked his head against it, slumping forward. 

Tony gasped, coughing and gripping his side.

 _"Multiple contusions detected,"_ FRIDAY reported, her voice barely heard through the ringing in his ears.

"Yeah," he groaned, "I detected those too." He lifted his arm with effort, hitting his helmet slightly and wincing at the sound that echoed through his ears. His display flickered, FRIDAY's response breaking up.

_"Sir- need minute- repairs-"_

Tony pulled out his SOS signal and it crumpled in his hand, falling to pieces on the floor. "That's just great." He sighed, groaning and holding his head as he pushed his back up against the wall, trying to take a deep breath.

Suddenly there was movement in the hallway to his right and Tony snapped alert, his head screaming in pain, blood trickling over his eye. He blinked harshly and raised a shaky arm, trying to keep it steady. 

Two men came staggering in, helping each other, in HYDRA gear, coughing from the smoke. When they saw him they pointed their guns, both speaking to each other in German. FRIDAY was not available to translate and Tony waved weakly. 

"Nein," he mocked.

Realizing Tony was powerless at the moment; his blaster was dark, they grinned and aimed. 

"Scheisse," Tony grumbled.

Suddenly there was a blur from his left and someone tackled the two guards. Their shots rang out, hitting the wall next to Tony's head. He ducked and scrambled away, watching as a lean figure, strong and fast, jumped to the ceiling, stuck there and then dropped on top of a guard, slamming him to the ground. The person flipped up and punched one across the face, grabbing his gun and slamming it into the other's forehead before spinning and knocking him on his back with a swift kick to the back of his knee. 

The two guards fell, unconscious, and Tony was breathing hard, watching the figure that straightened, dropping the gun in the center of the two men he had just effortlessly taken down. Tony smacked his arm quickly, the blaster spluttering to life and he leveled it but didn't fire. 

"FRIDAY, light," he whispered. 

The blaster switched into a flickering light, illuminating the figure's back in the dimly lit room. 

Tony's eyes were wide as he froze, keeping his arm steady as he waited for the unknown individual to turn around. When he finally did, Tony's brow knit in confusion. 

The boy turned around, breathing hard, his eyes falling on Tony, looking back at him with the same expression. Fear, anger, confusion, desperation, worry-

The brown eyes of a 16 year old kid stared back at him, watching him wearily. He had brown curly hair and was wearing a cotton shirt that was ripped and covered in blood, his jeans also stained and torn. His eyes were scarred, like they had seen and been through things no one should ever go through. Tony recognized that look. He had worn it himself. He still wore it underneath his confident exterior. The kid's chest was rising and falling rather fast and he backed up slowly, crouching near the corner, ready to strike.

A kid...he was just a kid. Tony had orders to kill. Cap's words echoed in his head, but Tony couldn't make himself fire up a blast. He couldn't look at this kid with hate. The determination in his eyes made it hard for Tony to believe that this kid had even been broken by HYDRA.

Tony made a decision and let his helmet recede so the kid could stare him in the eyes. The teen flinched at the sudden movement, but his eyes softened. Tony's gaze broke and his brow furrowed. Locking eyes with the kid, he could feel the tenseness in the room. Tony didn't move. Neither did the boy. They stayed staring at each other for a while, both trying to read the other.

Then slowly, he sat up and the kid jumped backward, putting out his arm with two fingers about to go to his palm, two fingers extended. His gaze was alert and worried, his eyes wide, looking at Tony with confusion. He sported a black eye, Tony could tell that was no longer a shadow now that he moved, and neither were the bruises that covered his face and arms. He was shaking just as much as Tony was, having an internal battle all the same, quivering, fighting himself. Blood covered the kid more than it did Tony, but his cuts looked mixed- old and fresh. 

Tony saw plain fear in the kid's eyes, but almost got the feeling the kid was tired of being afraid. At the same time, Tony wondered if he was misreading the fear. This kid could probably take him. He had just effortlessly taken out two men- Tony was no different. Also, he was currently ignoring the fact that he kid had stuck to the wall; he had seen weirder and at the moment that was his lowest concern. He was almost sure this kid wouldn't kill him, and there was no way Tony would fire on this teenager. Not with those eyes. Those weren't the eyes of a killer. Those weren't the eyes of a murderer. They were the eyes of a scared teenager.

The kid was backed into the corner, wide eyed and nervous. A heartbeat passed and Tony took a deep breath, slowly lowering his arm. The kid didn't lower his, but he seemed more relaxed. 

Tony put his hand against the wall and slowly stood, wincing as he put pressure on his bad ankle. He used the wall for support, leaning against it and coughed, looking up at the kid who still hadn't said anything, just following Tony's movements with his palm and eyes. 

Tony put out his hands and the kid's eyes widened, flicking back and forth between Tony's blasters. He tensed and his hand started to curl.

"Woah, woah, woah," Tony said, finally breaking the long silence. What to say? He assured the kid with his eyes, which after all, is how they had been talking for the past 5 minutes. The kid looked at him in confusion and worry, his cold stare almost breaking. 

"It's ok," Tony said, praying the kid didn't decide to attack. He said a quick prayer and then stepped out of the suit that powered off and went dark behind him. Tony knew he looked like crap, bloodied and bruised but nowhere as bad as the kid was. 

The teen eased a bit and Tony watched him nervously, his hands still up to show he wasn't a threat. 

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Tony promised, taking a step forward. The boy paniced and stepped backward, pressing himself against the wall. Somehow it didn't make him less intimidating, almost as if he was afraid of hurting Tony, not afraid _of_ Tony, but rather afraid of himself. 

"I'm here to help. I came to get you out of here-" Tony said before backtracking and realizing that he needed to be honest. "Well- I came here to shut this place down with my friends. And then that kind of went sideways."

"Are you here to kill them?" the boy spoke quietly, motioning towards the two guards. His voice was firm and so young, but raspy, like he had been deprived of water. His lips were chapped. It was firm, not giving away any emotion. Smart kid.

Tony refused to believe this teen worked for HYDRA. Not by the way he had looked at Tony. Not by the way he looked at those guards, with anger and vengeance, hate and relief. Not by the way he asked that question, because Tony could read it. He could read his tone. He heard the small voice crack that the boy covered up expertly. Tony still heard it because he himself spoke like that.

"Yes," Tony said firmly. 

"Good," the boy whispered.

Tony took a step forward, jumping as the kid snapped his head up and leveled his arm that had been slowly lowering. "Stay back!" he warned Tony, his voice breaking.

"I'm not gonna hurt you kid," he said firmly. 

"That's what they said," the kid sobbed suddenly, tears appearing in his fierce gaze that cut into Tony's soul. "What they all said," the boy finished and Tony took a step back and nodded. 

"I can help you. I'm getting you out of here," Tony said sincerely, nodding at the kid again. 

Confusion rippled across the kid's gaze, as if he wanted to believe Tony, but didn't. He shook his head fiercely and gasped out, "No. They said no one was coming." Then the defeat in his voice was gone, replaced with anger as he gritted his teeth and hissed, "Nobody came."

"Put down your arm kid, it's ok," Tony urged, locking eyes with the teenager again. "I'm not here to hurt you, I promise." All he saw was himself and it killed him.

After a minute's inner struggle, the teen's arm finally lowered and Tony breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded, trying to reassure the boy.

"What's your name?" he asked quietly. 

The boy narrowed his eyes, as if wondering if he should answer. 

"You can tell me kid, but if you don't want to I understand-" Tony said gently.

"Peter." The kid straightened, taking a deep breath and spoke louder, firmer. "My name is Peter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? Iffy? Yes? No?  
> I'm really excited for next chapter, it's probably gonna be my fav one to write, so if you couldn't tell I really wanted to get there so I'm sorry if that was a little rushed.  
> Pleaseeee leave comments- tell me what you think, what you hope to see, anything <3 and kudos are always appreciated.  
> Stay tuned for next chapter! :) No set date for that yet.  
> I love you all 3000


	2. 20 Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyy that was fun for me ahaha <3 I hope you like it!!! Thank you so much for reading.  
> This week is literal HELL for me so I'd say next chapter won't be for a couple of days but I'll make it a longer one for you guys...I have so much planned. Thank you all so much for your support on this story already!?!? You guys rock <3

"Peter," Tony nods, smiling at the kid. "I'm Tony. Tony Stark."

The kid''s expression relaxes and then he smirks a bit, "I know. I saw your suit. They- they talked about you."

"Who's they?" Tony asks, leaning against the wall to relieve the pressure on his ankle. 

"All of them," Peter says firmly, still standing straight, but his shoulders were visibly more relaxed. "They hate you." The he demands, "Why-why are you here?"

"They hate me," Tony repeats him and chuckles, shaking his head before answering Peter's question. "I'm here with the Avengers. We came to take down the base," he says.

Peter raises an eyebrow, a small smile coming onto the kid's face that floods with relief as he puts two and two together, "I- I think had action figures of you guys." He laughs quietly and then regains his firm expression, as if he hadn't laughed in a while. 

_Had action figures. Like it was a memory. "I think I had" as if he didn't remember..._ Tony stops, freezing and asks gently, "Peter, how old are you?"

"Sixteen," he says quietly, "At least- I- I think," he looks down in shame, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't- I don't know." 

Tony's heart shatters at the confusion and sadness in the Peter's voice. Doesn't know how old he is....how long has this kid been here? He's about to say something when suddenly the floor starts shaking again.

"You've got to be kidding me," Tony curses.

"This structure is screwed. The whole floor's gonna cave," Peter says firmly, turning to Tony, "Since you decided to blow it up." There's a bite to his tone and Tony makes a face.

"We didn't know people were down here-" he pauses, "correction, I didn't know you were down here." 

Peter shoots him a look, about to say something but then both of their heads turn to look down the hallway at a growing thundering, pounding, that's making the floor shake. 

"That's not good," Tony remarks, and suddenly he sees the floor cave in, roaring towards them, the hallway crumbling into nothing, rocks falling in from the top. 

Peter stumbles backwards and Tony puts an arm out to steady him, fisting his shirt as they back up to the wall. The kid hits his arm and pulls him towards a hallway, "Come on, we need to move."

Tony nods and the suit encloses around him, the helmet closing over his face, "Lead the way kid."

Peter starts sprinting down the hallway, Tony firing up what little power he has to keep up with the boy; he's faster than one would imagine. Much faster. Peter stops at a split in the hallway, and Tony can see his mind whirling as the teen debates which way to go. He can feel the ground shaking and when he dares to look behind him, he sees dust following them down the hallway. Thank God they had gotten out of there; the place where they had met was crushed by falling rock. 

"This way," Peter says, going left down the hall. He checks to make sure Tony is still behind him and just as he does, he sees the kid tense as if sensing something and Tony then sees an arm stick out from the hallway. 

"Peter-" he shouts and the kid tries to duck but it's too late. A man steps out, almost twice the size of Peter, decking the teen with an stiffarm to his chest. The kid falls, slamming into the ground with a groan. The hit that should have knocked him out or possibly broken ribs only winds the boy and he's already scrambling back in fear as the man towers over him. The two obviously know each other. Fury boiled in Tony's chest; after the previous behavior he had seen of Peter, he couldn't imagine what this guy had done to make the kid react in such way. 

The man doesn't pay attention to Tony, which is a mistake because with a surge of protectiveness Tony blasts his gun out of his hand and easily maneuvers in front of Peter to shield him, hitting the man in the face with a solid uppercut and blasting him down the hallway. Peter levels his arm from the floor and presses his two middle fingers to his palm. A sticky webbing shoots out just above his wrist, shooting down the hallway and trapping the man to the wall. 

Tony turns to stare at the kid at the ground who is breathing hard and he offers him a hand. Peter winces and takes it after a quick second of hesitation, allowing Tony to help him to his feet. 

"Thanks," Peter says quietly, rubbing the center of his chest.

"Is that stuff coming out of you?" Tony marvels. 

The hallway behind them suddenly caves in, the floor tilting as the entire ground shifts. 

"Go- go- go," Tony says quickly, grabbing Peter by the shirt as he slips backward. The kid scrambles up and rounds the corner, Tony having to fire up his boosters as the floor crumbles beneath him. Peter is sprinting and Tony is flying next to him as the entire hallway caves in, the ceiling pounding down mere feet behind them.

"Right!" Peter yells, Tony banking a hard corner. The rumble is echoing in his ringing ears and he feels his suit dipping a bit due to the loss of power. The arc reactor flicks. Tony curses. It better hold out. 

"In here!" the kid says, kicking open a door that was bolted at least 3 places. He races up the hallway and Tony's feet touch the ground as he runs after him. Peter bursts through the door at the end of the hallway and then skids to a stop about running only ten feet forward; the floor is crumbling away ahead of them. Tony blasts off an electric lock to the right and Peter takes his cue, using his shoulder to slam open the door, tumbling in. Tony follows him before putting out his hands to stop himself from slamming into the back wall. Spinning and trying to go back out he feels something stick to his back and yank him backwards. As he looks over his shoulder he sees a web attached to his back, Peter holding the other end.

A loud crash sends his head whipping back to face the exit, which he had attempted to get out of, now nonexistent. Rocks that would have crushed him crack the ground as they fall.

"Holy-" Tony cusses, firing up his blasters to pull himself back even further as the door falls off. The front of the room caves, the ceiling falling down, burying the hallway and half of the room in rubble. Peter looks around and backs himself into a corner. He and Tony crouch and cover their heads as the dust settles.

They were lucky. When Tony opens his eyes he sees that the room is no longer a room. A massive pile of ceiling and an enormous, endless pile of rocks are in front of them, sealing the exit. The cave in stopped about halfway into the room, meaning they're trapped, but safe for now. Small rocks tumble down the massive pile and roll until they hit Tony's feet. 

Tony turns off his boosters, letting himself fall the last foot to the ground and then looks over his shoulder at the webbing on his back. 

"Get this off me," he rolls his eyes. 

"You're welcome," the kid grumbles. Peter gives it a hard yank and it frees itself.

"What is this stuff anyway?" Tony asks, inspecting the web that had fallen to the floor behind him. 

"Webbing," Peter says simply, his legs pulled to his chest in the corner. 

"The tensile strength is off the charts," Tony marveled.

"Yeah, I know," the kid says simply. 

"Huh," Tony says, as if that explained everything. He walks towards the pile and starts moving rocks away. After a minute, he has barely made even the smallest dent; it looks the same and he suddenly hears Peter snort behind him. 

"I was just waiting how long it would take you to realize that won't work," Peter calls to him. 

"You how it might work?" Tony nods, faking a smile, "If you got off your butt and helped."

"Oh yeah," Peter slurred sarcastically. "Did you see how much ceiling fell?"

Tony can't think of a retort to that and hates the fact that the kid is right. Truth is, he knew it was hopeless from the beginning, he just really didn't want to sit in an awkward room for hours on end with this random kid he had just met. He would talk to him but he doubted that would go well. It would be like pulling teeth. He knew that Peter wasn't scared of him, and that the silence that had when they first met was only out of caution and wariness but still...

He kicked a rock back into the pile and sighed before sitting down across from Peter on the other side of the room. 

For a second there's silence. Tony gazes at the kid who is in the corner, with his knees still trapped to his chest by his arms. Tony doesn't know what to say if he did try and start conversation. He had so many questions but something held him back from asking. Funny enough it's Peter who breaks the silence. 

"You know Mr. Stark, I really thought I would finally be getting out of here," he said, laughing as if mocking himself for having hope. 

"You are getting out of here," Tony said firmly. "If you think I'm gonna let myself die down here, you're wrong. So might as well bring you out with me," he jokes.

Then he immediately curses himself, wondering that since he and Peter just met, the kid would mistake Tony's joke about his ego for saying he didn't care about Peter. So he adds, "My friends are coming. They'll get us out of here. You're not dying here Pete, I promise."

Pete? He called him Pete without even realizing. The kid didn't look phased and Tony breathed a sigh of relief he had not overstepped. 

"Yeah well, it wouldn't be that bad. Kind of figured I would for a while now," he admitted, shrugging and looking down. 

Tony swallowed, wondering if the question that had just popped into his head was an appropriate question to ask. So logically, he just asked it rather than think about if he should say it or not. "Peter, how..." Tony stopped, lowering his voice, "How long have you-"

"Nine years," Peter said stiffly. 

Tony choked, "Nine-"

"Yeah," Peter nodded, smiling with no humor. "I'm not HYDRA's puppet," he snapped. "I've been brainwashed. That didn't take. That's why I'm still here, and still alive. HYDRA refuses to let slip that someone _hasn't_ been broken by them," he grumbled, but there was a spark of determined pride in his cold tone.

Tony nods slowly, "Did they give you those powers?"

"Yeah," Peter says, looking at his hands. "They're not bad. I've gotten pretty good at using them. Enhanced senses, super strength..." he trails off.

"I noticed," Tony remarked, remembering how he could sense the guard before Tony did and how he broke off the door, "So you got a last name Peter?"

"Don't remember it," Peter said all too quickly. "I'm actually kind of surprised they let me remember my first name. HYDRA took me from my family when I was 7 and wiped my memory."

"Peter I'm sorry-" Tony said sadly. 

"I don't want your sympathy," Peter snapped, but there was no anger, it was almost like a plead, or the asking of a favor. The regret and the apologetic flare in the gaze he shot Tony proved that. 

"Ok, ok," Tony said, putting up his hands as they exchanged an earnest glance. After another minute of silence he narrowed his eyes, "Quick question. Why didn't you kill me? When you came in the room. You could have. I saw how fast you took down those guards and you're smart enough to know that my suit wasn't working."

Peter smirks at the 'you're smart enough' and Tony can practically hear him thinking out loud, _this idiot thinks he knows me._ Peter shrugged, "I've been here long enough to know you weren't a bad guy. I know who they are. And when you took off your helmet I saw you didn't have the eyes."

"The...eyes?" Tony asks, lost.

"They all have a- a _look_. I've stared it in the face for nine years, I know the look," he said stubbornly, his eyes flashing as if daring Tony to counter him, "and you didn't have it."

Tony nodded, satisfied, and unwilling to press the kid.

"I still don't trust you," Peter said quickly, just to make sure Tony knew. 

"You're talking to me," Tony pointed out. 

"What else is there to do? You're gonna ask me questions anyway," Peter countered. 

Tony grinned and raised an eyebrow, "That mouth probably got you in trouble-" It had meant to come out as a joke, but Tony soon realized that it probably literally had and that Peter had been hurt because of it. 

Peter nodded firmly, his gaze flashing, "Yeah, it did. But I wouldn't change any of it."

Tony gave him a smile of admiration and Peter gave him a wary one in return before pulling up the corner of his shirt to dab at a cut above his eye. Before he pulled his shirt down Tony caught sight of a large slice on his side, the reason for a large stain on his shirt. 

"Holy- kid, your side-" he spluttered, his eyes widened and the kid looked up before his expression fell and he made a face.

"It's fine, I've had worse," he grumbled dismissively. 

"Had worse," Tony trailed off, shocked and horrified that a gash like that wasn't causing the kid screaming pain. What scared him more was that there was only one explanation for why...Peter was used to it. 

"Healing factor," the teen assured him, making a face as if shocked someone cared about him, "I'll be fine."

Tony nodded, still in shock, but not willing to go near the kid and try and patch it up; the teen looked pissed enough that he would break his arm if he even poked him. "So how did you get out?" Tony stuttered, trying to change the subject so he didn't have to think about the massive cut he had just seen.

Peter raised an eyebrow, "When the alarms started they were dragging me back to the cell. I always act sedated every time, but I'm not. The serum runs through my system faster, I found that out a year in. I took out the one guy and...violently... _persuaded_ the other to take off my cuffs. I can't use my powers with those on," he explained, "they clamp over my hands. Then I started running. Everyone else was too. I didn't know what was happening I just knew that maybe...maybe I could get out. And then I came to that room and saw those 2 guys and I don't know...I just didn't think."

"Well thanks for that," Tony said sincerely. 

Peter shrugged, "We're still dead men walking."

"Hey," Tony snapped and at his tone Peter's gaze snapped up and his eyes flared but Tony refused to back down with his firmness. "The freaking Avengers are upstairs. You're trapped with Earth's Mightiest Hero. We're getting out of here."

Peter rolled his eyes, easing the tension, "No offense Mr. Stark, but when you're down here as long as I've been, positivity is not one of your defining qualities," he said sarcastically. Then he leaned back against the corner and raised his gaze to Tony. "What about you, why didn't you kill me?"

"You're a kid," Tony chuckled.

"I'm sixteen," Peter said fiercely, "and you said it yourself. I could have taken you." 

Tony raised his hands in surrender, "Fine. First off, because you had saved my life a second ago and you weren't wearing one of those ugly black uniforms. But also...I don't know. I'll tell you the other reason when I get to know you better," he decided.

Peter snorted. 

"Hey," Tony raised an eyebrow, "I don't trust you yet either."

"Fair enough," Peter nodded. 

Silence. 

Tony saw Peter rub his wrists and he spoke up, "If you want to talk about what happened down here-"

"Sorry, Mr. Stark, but I'm not one for therapy sessions. Especially not talking to a sane person for the first time in nine years. I'm not one for chic flics," Peter said in a rush of words.

Tony suppressed a smile. God this kid was exactly like him. "Well you're doing the normal human being thing pretty well, I'll give you that."

Peter gave a small smile, "I've run this day through my head every day for nine years," Peter said, putting his head against the wall, "This is not how I imagined it." He lowered his gaze to lock with Tony's and shook his head, "Especially not with you."

"Yeah well, surprise," Tony remarked. 

Peter scoffed, "Yeah."

There's silence for a little bit longer until Tony clasps his hands, making Peter jump, "Well, what do you want to do? While we're here," he shrugged, leaning back against the stone wall. "20 questions. I spy?"

Peter looks around, "We're literally in a bare cell with rocks, what the heck are you gonna spy?"

"Just sprouting ideas. You got a better way to pass the time?" Tony asked in annoyance.

"You act like we're best friends all of a sudden," Peter said, eyeing him warily. 

"Don't worry kid, I'm like this with everyone," Tony winks. "Not just you."

"I dreamed of meeting you when I was a kid you know. At least...I think I did. The memory comes back sometimes. Bits and pieces have sparked over the years. Still foggy," he admits. 

"Was I everything you hoped and dreamed for? Why am I even asking? Yes. Of course I was," Tony said cockily, flashing a smile.

Peter smirked and was about to answer when suddenly there was a crackle from inside Tony's suit. The kid jumped to his feet in alarm, sticking to the wall and aiming his hand at Tony. 

"Woah! Kid calm down," he demanded, sitting up and smacking the arc reactor once to get it flickering again. "FRIDAY?"

_"Yes sir."_

"Your suit just talked," Peter said nervously, staying where he was on the wall. 

"Yeah, this is FRIDAY, my A.I." Tony waved his hand, "Peter FRIDAY, FRIDAY Peter. Now you know each other. Horray. Can you establish comms?"

"You have the tech to create Artificial Intelligence and you name her after a day of the week?" Peter snorts, lowering his arm hesitantly as he slowly descends back down to the floor.

Tony ignores him, "FRIDAY. You read me?"

_"Establishing comms as we speak. Give me a minute."_

There's static coming from Tony's suit and then there's a crackle. Tony crosses his fingers.

_"T-Tony do you- copy? Tony! Do- copy? -there- hello-"_

"Nat!" Tony yells, whooping, "Nat, thank God. Yeah I'm here. You're breaking up and I don't have much power."

_"We're coming- get you. Location-"_

"Tell FRIDAY to access my location using this signal. The beacon should be strong enough. I'm on the East-"

"West," Peter corrects.

"West end of the bottom level," Tony says, winking at Peter.

There's a pause on the transmitter and then Nat's voice is dangerously calm. 

_"Tony...who was that with you?"_

"Oh...yeah, I've got company," he says, glancing at Peter before speaking quickly, "It's ok though. Not HYDRA. It's complicated."

_"Our orders were not complicated Tony," Nat said firmly. "Everybody dies. No exceptions."_

Tony wished she hadn't said that. Before he can even try to explain, the kid, justifiably, beats him to it. 

Peter's eyes widen and he shouts, "What? I saved your-"

"Peter, stop- I'm not gonna-" Tony says, putting out his hand. 

Peter shoots a web, trapping Tony's hand against the wall and snarling, "You stay away from me."

"Kid! I'm not letting anybody touch you, you hear me?" Tony said angrily, blasting through the webbing and ducking as Peter jumped and kicked right where his head would have been.

"Holy-"

The kid drops to the ground, flipping Tony onto his back and pressing his ankle to the arc reactor, his other leg trapping one of Tony's arms to the ground. 

_"Tony? You there?"_

"Little bit of a situation Nat," Tony groaned, grabbing Peter's ankle that was pushing against his chest, about to shatter the center of the suit. "You don't want to do that kid. That's really expensive-" Peter twisted his ankle out of Tony's grasp and switched, slamming down hard with his other one. 

"You think I care?" he seethed. 

"Ok, ok, ok, look that's our only chance of getting out of here," Tony said, knowing he could blast this kid right off him but not wanting to do that.

"What, so you can kill me?" Peter shouts.

"No!"

"You had orders!"

"Does that mean I have to follow them?" Tony shouts.

That resonates with Peter who slowly releases the pressure on his chest, but doesn't let Tony go just yet. Tony sighed, "Peter, you didn't follow your orders. Why do I have to follow mine?"

"What were the orders," Peter snarled.

"Kid-"

"What were they?" he demands, his eyes flashing.

"Look, I had a job to kill everyone related to HYDRA," Tony said quickly, well aware of Peter's ankle that was so close to cracking the arc reactor. He winced from the pain and continued talking, "We were supposed to come in here and yes, kill everyone, because it's a HYDRA base. Everyone already manipulated by them, caught in a downward spiral- our job was to even kill the prisoners because there was no activity for 20 years in or out of here. We figured anyone left would be a lost cause, already gone- not worth saving. But then I found you and that- that changed-"

Tony coughed, wincing and pushing up on the ankle that was now making his chest hurt. It was getting hard to breathe. Tony sucked in a breath and rasped out, "I'm getting you out of here and I swear on my life that no one will hurt you as long as I'm around, you hear me?"

Peter glared at him, narrowing his eyes. 

"You gonna let me up or what?" Tony coughed out. 

"I haven't made a decision," Peter snarled. 

"You haven't crushed my chest. I think that's a decision," Tony pointed out weakly. 

Peter glared at him for a second more, closely watching his every move. Then, finally, he stepped back, removing his foot and Tony took a big breath, rolling on his side and getting to his feet. 

"I still don't trust you," Peter snapped, going over to the corner, watching over his shoulder. 

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, well I'm your only way out of here so at least appreciate me."

Peter scoffed, "Thanks, I'm good."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Sheesh. Now, you gonna go ballistic on me again or can I sit down?"

Peter crossed his arms, "Depends. You gonna have someone say they're gonna kill me?"

Tony made a face and sneered out, "No."

"Then I guess you're good to sit down," Peter said shortly. 

"Thank you your highness," Tony scoffed, sinking to the floor and giving him a huge fake smile with a twirl of his hand. 

"I hate you," Peter grumbled, sliding down to the floor as well, back against the wall, still tense. 

"Feeling's mutual brat."

* * *

"Tony's ok," Nat said, breathing a sigh of relief. They all knew he was alive; no rock was going to stop the great Tony Stark, but it was still a relief to hear he was ok.

Cap nodded firmly, visibly relaxing at her words. Although he and Tony had a love hate relationship, they were good friends in the end. Every time. Cap nods to her again, as if trying to reassure himself that he had this under control, "Where is he?"

"West end, bottom level," Nat recalled, pressing the bandage back to her cut knee.

She heard a curse from behind her and looked over her shoulder. Rhodey had been worried about his best friend the minute he had pulled Nat from the crumbling staircase. It took everyone on the team to convince him not to go looking for Tony in the rubble. He finally spoke up, "The signal shows he's right smack in the middle of where the floor caved in so my guess is we're gonna have to dig him out."

"Them," Nat corrected weakly, remembering what Tony had said after she heard that additional voice. 

"Them?" Clint said warily, crossing his arms, his bow swinging at his side. 

"Yeah..." Nat said slowly. "He must have made a friend."

"He knows the orders," Cap said, emotions plastered all over his face, "we kill everyone. No exceptions."

Nat hesitated. She had known Stark long enough to read his tone and she shook her head slowly, "Tony seemed...pretty sure. I think we should hear him out. I, for one, trust his judgement."

"Any man left in here is not worth saving," Bucky said quietly from the corner. "If it was me I would want you to kill me."

"Bucky-" Steve said slowly before he lowered his head. 

"The things they do to you..." Bucky shakes his head, "I was lucky. You're hardly human anymore. They turn you into something you don't want to be."

There was silence for a second. 

"Did he say anything else?" Rhodey asked desperately, wishing like everyone else that there was some clear decision to this mess.

"No," Nat said grimly, "It cut out before I could say anything else."

"We have 40 minutes," Vision cut in. 

"Do we wait for a team?" Wanda asked weakly. 

"No. Tony could be hurt. He's good at hiding it," Cap said quickly, "and who knows who's with him..."

Nat, still firm in the belief that Tony's voice gave away the deciding vote tried one more time to convince her teammate, "Steve we can't assume-"

"I know we can't assume which is exactly why we can't let this man walk," Steve said firmly. He turned to Sam, "Are all of the exits blocked except the main one?"

"Yeah," Sam confirmed, leaning against the wall. "I'm sure the collapse of the downstairs cut off any exits. We took care of the rest upstairs and FRIDAY has main access to the entire building now."

Everyone looked at Steve and silence overtook the group. 

Cap rubbed his neck and shook his head, "Ok, here's what we're gonna do. We take two teams on either side. It will be easier if we attack this collapsed floor at two angles, I don't know how far in or how far down he is. We'll cover more ground if we separate. The bottom floor should be mostly empty anyways. I don't know who will get there first but whoever does..." Cap hesitated. Then he looked down.

Grabbing his shield firmly and clipping it onto place onto his back he looked up and spoke, "You get Tony out of there, and you kill whoever is with him."

* * *

Tony and Peter were still sitting in silence, tense after that last encounter. Tony didn't really expect the kid to trust him after that, what logical person would, but he was glad Peter made the decision to at least let Tony help him get out of here. 

Tony was about to say something when he suddenly felt the rocks shift, some of them falling down the pile that hadn't moved since they got here. Peter was immediately on high alert, tensing and jumping to his feet, narrowing his eyes. 

Tony got to his feet and started forward, his helmet clicking down over his face, "Stay back kid."

"Shut up," Peter grumbled, creeping forward. At the next tremble he crouched, one leg stretched out and one bent, his hands out as if ready to fight. 

"You look like an idiot," Tony commented. 

"I'm not the one wearing a tin can," Peter snapped back, his eyes focused ahead. 

"It's Nitinol," Tony corrected, "and you look like a freaking spider in that pose, stop it."

"Spiders are stupid," Peter grumbled, returning to a normal crouch. 

_"Tony!"_

Both Peter and Tony perked up and Tony whooped, "Hey Uncle Sam! Never thought I would say this but I am glad to hear your voice."

The voice sounded closer and he heard a brief chuckle, _"Save it- thank God- ok, I'm coming, stay there-"_

"Can't really go anywhere so yeah," Tony called back. A couple seconds later he saw the rocks shift drastically, falling backward to reveal the top of the hallway. 

"Come on," Tony said to Peter and they both started moving rocks away from the center, tossing them towards the back of the room.

"Back up!" Cap directed, "Rhodey's gonna blast it!"

"Copy," Tony said, heeding his friend's warning. Peter hesitantly steps back as well, covering his head as there's an explosion on the other side of the wall of rocks. Suddenly the entire pile starts crumbling away, revealing Cap on the other end. The hole they create is big enough for Cap to slip through but not big enough for Rhodey to. 

"I'm coming to you," Cap announces. "It will be easier once the team gets here to get rid of this wall."

"Fair enough Einstein," Tony remarks, clasping his friends hand and helping him through the slit. Cap stumbled out and Tony steadies him, grabbing his shoulder. 

"Good to see you man," Tony grins, and Cap returns the relieved smile, shaking his hand. "You missed me didn't you? I know you did-"

Tony had been suspicious from the second Cap came in. There was no reason for him to. They could have easily brought the wall down from the other side. And there was no reason for Cap to take off his shield as he shook Tony's hand. He had fought side by side with his friend for at least 10 years, he knew him very well.

Well enough to see the flick of his eyes left in Peter's direction.

Well enough to see the fake calm on his face.

Well enough to see his hands clench around his shield and loosen from Tony's hand. 

But apparently not well enough to stop him from pulling away from Tony and swinging the shield toward Peter's head before he had a chance to blink. 

Thankfully, the kid ducked, the shield slicing the air above his head. Peter stumbled back, losing his balance out of sheer shock and fell. He was on his elbows as Cap readjusted and made a giant arc towards his chest without even looking at who his target was. 

"STOP!" Tony sidestepped in front of the kid, catching the shield with his hand. He wrestled it away and blasted Cap in the chest, yanking the shield from Steve's hand and tossing it behind him. 

"Steve, stop!" he yelled, his helmet receding to his neck so he could stare Steve in the eyes, putting out his palm, the center of his blaster heating up. 

Cap had staggered back and he made eye contact with Peter who was behind Tony, now on his feet, wide eyed and furious. "He's- he's a kid-" Cap spluttered, instant regret flashing in his eyes. His fists uncurled and he straightened in horror.

Peter stepped forward, not caring about Steve's current expression because there was flat out murder in his eyes. Tony quickly spun, catching his arms and standing in front of him, holding him back. 

"Get off me," Peter snarled.

"Peter, look at me," Tony demanded, "hey- _hey_!"

Peter fiercely made eye contact, pushing immensely hard against Tony's grip which he would not have been able to keep up if it hadn't been for the suit. 

"Let me handle this," he pleaded. 

"He-" Peter started venomously. 

"I know what he did," Tony hissed firmly, "but you could take him anyway and I promise the old guy is nice when you get to know him...ish."

Peter glared harshly over his shoulder. 

"Let. Me. Handle this," Tony repeated. 

Peter's nostrils flared, his eyes flashing. He frowned, "This doesn't mean I trust you." Then, as if to clarify, he says, "I don't."

"Not asking you to," Tony shook his head, relieved that Peter was easing up on the force. "Just suggesting you don't go commando just yet," he says firmly, matching Peter's glare. Then he looks Peter in the eye and says, "Kid, I made you a promise and I'm sticking to that promise. Got it?"

"Fine."

"Good."

As if on cue, the rest of the rocks crumbled down and revealed the rest of the Avengers, ready to fight. Wanda stood there with Vision, red energy and yellow beams fading. Rhodey's gun was smoking. Clint had an arrow notched and Sam's guns were pointed. Only Natasha and Rhodey had their guns at the ready but were not raising them just yet. The team took in the scene and their eyes immediately went to Peter who tensed, curling his fists. 

"Listen up," Tony snarled, stepping in front of Peter.

"Lower them," he said. Tony could feel Peter's eyes on him as he glared at every single one of his teammates who slowly lowered their weapons.

"You want to get to him? You go through me. Anyone touches him, I blow you up. Do you understand?" Tony spoke loud and clear, his tone serious and promising. Tony sighed and grinned awkwardly, "Glad we're on the same page now. Great to see you all too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Feel free to comment what you thought and leave kudos, it's greatly appreciated :)  
> Stay tuned and thank you all so much for reading!  
> I love you 3000 <3


	3. Unfamiliar Territory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's not packed with action, I'm sorry, but I still hope you like it :)  
> I am so tired. I saw Star Wars ROS last night at 11:30 and holy crap I'm tired. Go see it, it's amazing <3 :) And the black widow trailer played and I was like yess Natttt <3 Thank you so much for reading, I hope you like it! More notes at the end!

"Come on," Tony said firmly to Peter who trailed him closely as they walked through the ranks of Avengers that stepped back to let them through, remembering Tony's promise. The kid watched them all warily, tense and stiff, but he followed Tony, sticking to him within an inch. When Tony stopped, Peter bumped into him. Tony saw the kid blush with embarrassment and shoot him a dangerous look out of the corner of his eye just in case he was about to tease him, but Tony was facing the team who was still frozen where they were a couple hundred feet back.

"I presume we want to get out of here, yes?" Tony asked. 

It was like snapping them out of a trance. They all blinked and nodded, a chorus of mumbles following their movement.

"Knew you weren't dead," Rhodey clasped Tony's hand as he approached him and pulled him into an embrace. Tony clapped him on the back, grinning and he winked. 

"Sure you did," he nodded, "that explains the dust in your eye, right?"

Rhodey shoved him and Tony laughed. A sudden rumble sobered the mood and everyone regained their footing before all turning to look at the hallway that led to the exit. Tony looked over his shoulder at his team, "Let's get out of here before the entire place comes down."

"Ross will want an update on Peter," Cap said to Tony. The kid was walking a little ways ahead of them, leading the way since the last route they had been following was a dead end due to a caved hallway. 

"I know he will," Tony nodded. 

"What are you gonna say?" Steve asked. 

"The truth," Tony said, "and I'm gonna give him the same exact warning as I did all of you."

Steve looked up ahead at the teen who was lost from their view as he webbed the next landing and effortlessly flipped onto it. "That kid's never gonna trust me."

"You did try and kill him," Tony pointed out. "Threw a shield at his head-"

"Don't remind me," Steve grumbled. Then he hit Tony on the shoulder and motioned in the teen's direction, "Why are you so protective of him?"

Tony scoffed, "Protective. I'm not protective."

Steve gave a look and Tony sighed, "He saved my life Cap. He's a 16 year old who has been in this hell hole for nine years and-"

"You just met him," Steve raised an eyebrow before Tony smacked him because they had reached the top of the steps where Peter was waiting. 

"Two lefts and a right," Peter mumbled, kicking open the door to the main level. Tony motioned for Steve to go forward and he held open the door, letting the Avengers pass. Everyone was through yet Peter still stayed pressed against the wall. 

"Kid, you ok?" Tony asked, still holding the door, waiting for the teen to move through it. 

"I haven't been past this spot in 8 years," Peter said slowly, and Tony saw the kid was shaking. Peter pointed to a spot on the floor. "One year in, when I was still set on getting out, I tried to escape. I made it to here, so close, and then they dragged me back. Adapted, knew what I could do. I screwed myself over trying to get out of this nightmare, made my life even more of a hell for the next 8 years."

He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms before pointing at the door and stuttering, "And there's the door. I've been dreaming of this moment, the days when I have good dreams. I thought I would just get up and walk out. But now I can't."

Tony let the door close and walked over to the teen who suddenly seemed so small. "Hey, I promised I would get you out of here, didn't I?"

Peter nodded, his eyes that were once glued to the door ripped away and now locked on Tony, wide and innocent, yet so burdened. 

"Well I always keep my promises, and look where you are. But you've got the door right in front of you, literally, so don't be afraid to open it kid. Not after all you've been through," Tony shook his head firmly. 

"I don't even know my last name," Peter said angrily, his gaze fierce. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Lucky for you, you ran into one of the richest men in the world," Tony grinned. "You could start over. Completely. Or...I can help you try and pick up the pieces. I've got connections, we can try and figure out your past."

"Really-" Peter's joy quickly turned into suspicion. He stared at Tony. as if trying to read him and Tony raised an eyebrow. Peter took a breath, "Why are you doing this?"

"You saved my life kid, and I'm not about to be in debt for my entire existence. I'm not a fan of debt," he shuddered mockingly. Then he sighed, "And let's just say...I have a hunch."

"Hunch that what?" Peter asked slowly. 

"That you're gonna do amazing things one day," Tony said rolling his eyes, "Now open the frickin door. My pep talk's over. I will wait for you on the jet, don't expect me to hold your hand," Tony scoffed. 

Peter scowled, pushing off the wall, yanking the door open. Tony grinned and caught the door that he had shoved, following him. They turned the corner and walked down the hall, Tony watching Peter's stride grow as they got closer, walking faster, his shoulders straightening with more confidence. Peter broke into a jog and then a full sprint, Tony having to fire up his blasters to keep up with him. But as he cut the last corner he put out his hands to stop himself, narrowly missing the kid who was standing still in the center of the hallway.

Peter had stopped short, staring at the exit, breathing hard, cold air already drifting in and blowing through his curls that had since been flattened with sweat and blood. He exhaled shakily, his hands shaking at his sides. A small smile was flickering on his lips, appearing and disappearing, tears welling in the kid's eyes. 

The boy gulped, staring at the exit in shock, the door held open by Natasha who had waited for them. She gave Peter a comforting smile and opened it wider, revealing the jet that had landed on the tarmac. 

"Let's go kid," Tony urged, pushing Peter forward gently. 

The kid took a couple steps, nearly tripping over his own feet. Tony put his hand on Peter's shoulders and started leading him forward.

"Get off," Peter demanded and Tony obliged, starting to remove his grasp when suddenly Peter reached across his chest and caught Tony's wrist before it could lose contact, his eyes staring straight ahead. Tony rested his hand back on Peter's shoulder and he got him to start walking. 

"Go on," Nat encouraged warmly as Peter stepped out, tears in the teen's eyes that he was obviously trying to hide. Tony could feel the boy's excitement and shock; he was shaking under Tony's hand that still hadn't left his shoulder.

"T-thanks," Peter stuttered, slumping a bit, choking down a cry of relief. He looked around in awe, a true smile appearing on the kid's face. 

"Let's get you on the jet Peter," Tony grinned. 

* * *

Peter cautiously walked up the ramp, looking around at the Avengers taking off their gear and lounging on the benches and seats. His heart was still pounding, thrilled and in shock that this was happening, that this wasn't a dream or a simulation. He was actually out. He was out. 

He knew the realization hadn't hit yet. He hoped no one was around him when it did. His heart was pounding out of his chest, which was normal, but it was somehow faster. Relief constantly flooded him, making his legs shake and threaten to buckle. The only reason he wasn't sinking to his knees and crying was because of the Avengers in the jet.

He maintained his composure, holding his head high and hiding his limp well. They didn't know him. He didn't know them. He'd keep it that way. For now. Why was this so hard?

Peter took a deep breath, centering himself. He had gotten good at that for the past 9 years. It wasn't like he ever had anyone to talk to. He had been alone for more than half of his life. He kept his feelings inside, and didn't let anyone in because there was no one to let in. Everyone he knew had hurt him. They were bad people. Peter didn't think there was anyone out there who he could trust. Until T-

"Kid."

Peter's thoughts were cut short and he blinked, jumping and tensing. Tony was pointing out a seat for him to take so that he didn't have to stand there awkwardly like he had been. Peter gratefully took it, looking around the jet in awe. He had never been in one before, and he felt like he was 6 again- what was he saying? He didn't remember what anything felt like from his childhood. 

"Dang, we need to get that side looked at," came a voice from behind him. 

With a jolt, Peter didn't recognize the voice as Tony, who, frankly was the only one who he- no he didn't trust him. He didn't trust anyone. He spun and scrambled backwards until he was pressed against the far bench, his arm extended. It was the man who had given Tony that hug earlier. 

"Hey, easy, I don't bite Pete," the man smiled.

Peter didn't lower his arm and he said fiercely, "It's Peter." He hated people treating him like a kid. 

Tony saw what was going on and quickly stepped in, patting his friend on the shoulder, "Give him some space Rhodes."

'Rhodes' nodded, sliding backward to the opposite end of the bench, giving Peter a smile and nod. Suddenly someone else was in front of him, the red haired woman in the black suit who had held open the door. She was offering him a blanket, "Thought you might want this."

Peter glanced at Tony who nodded with assurance and Peter gently reached out and took it, offering her a small smile in return. She winked and walked to the cockpit where that dude with the bow was. It looked like she was going to fly as well; she slipped into the front seat. 

"You doing ok kid?" Tony asked. 

"It's a lot," Peter admitted, choking up and swallowing down a lump in his throat. Stop it, Peter. 

"Yeah, I know it is," Tony nodded. He motioned to the blanket. "You know they actually...unfold-"

"Shut up," Peter muttered sourly, but he cracked a smile as he unfolded the blanket and brought it to his chin. "It still doesn't feel right. I don't know...what to think."

"Worry about what to think later," Tony says with a slight smile and he points out the window, "Watch."

Suddenly the jet lifts and Peter instinctively grabs the sides of the plane, his eyes widening, his heartbeat pounding in his chest. No-no-no- what's happening? The plane ascends, leaving the ground and starts to go forward and Peter's knuckles turn white, his chest rapidly rising and falling. He grabs the seat, his eyes narrowing.

"Hey, hey, hey-" Tony puts a hand on his shoulder, snapping him back to face him with a fearful expression, recoiling a slight bit by Peter's expression.

"What's- what's going on?" Peter gasped out, hyperventilating. "What's that?"

Tony stifles a chuckle, holding Peter's shoulders, "You're in a plane. Sorry, I didn't think about that. My bad, my bad- hey, you're ok. We're flying, we're in a jet. Look outside. Your not afraid of heights, are you?"

Peter shakes his head and peaks out the window, his eyes widening even more. He gasps, "Wow-" Everything is getting smaller, the trees, the green- it's all spiraling away. The clouds are suddenly so close Peter feels like he could open a window and touch them. It's incredible. They're going at unimaginable speeds, faster than he thought was possible.

"Cool, right?" Tony grins. "So this is your first jet ride then? What about plane, I take it you haven't been in one of those either?"

Peter, who tears his gaze away from the window and sinks down into his seat again, controlled his breathing and then gulped out, "I- I don't know if I went on it before..." He gulps and looks down. His head felt like it was going to explode. This was way too much to take in. Come on Peter, you've been beaten-

Tony curses under his breath, snapping Peter out of his thoughts, "Right. Sorry kid-"

Peter shakes his head and waves off the apology, turning to look out the window again. It distracts him from the memories. From the fear that this is all a dream or somehow not real and that he's just going to wake up in that room or in that chair or on that table screaming in pain, staring at the bright light hanging directly above him, wishing that he would just die already because escape was impossible-

The sky was so clam.

"Wow," he says again, staring out the window for a bit longer, mostly to make sure he can stop shaking before he turns to look at Tony who is watching him with a slight smile on his face. "It's cool," Peter mutters, embarrassed. 

"You need anything?" Tony eyes him warily.

Peter shook his head, not trusting his voice at the moment to give his true answer away. Instead his eyes still wandering around the jet in awe and wonder which isn't hard to fake. The headache gets worse with each new thing he finds, but Peter barely feels it. If he offers you something, you say no Peter, he thinks angrily. You don't need anything from him. Besides, he won't even know you were lying-

Tony raised an eyebrow, somehow seeing through Peter's answer, "Water?"

Crap. He hadn't had water in a while. He was constantly dehydrated and at the moment he was hungry too. Against his will, but using his better judgement, Peter slowly nodded. He didn't usually get a lot to eat; usually it was just enough to keep him alive. For the past 9 years actually. And now that was finally over.

Tony cracked a smile, "Don't go anywhere kid. We've got water bottles and some food in the back." He patted Peter's knee and Peter didn't even recognize teh fact that he didn't flinch. As Tony stood up, muttering something about getting old, Peter spoke up before he lost his nerve, sitting up quickly. 

"Tony?"

The man turned back around to face him, "Yeah?"

"Thanks," Peter said sincerely. 

He winked and then Peter watched him walk to the back of the jet. By the time he came back with the water and protein bars though, Peter had fallen asleep staring out the window, the blanket pulled up to his chin, his head slumped to the side, with one tear sliding down his cheek. 

* * *

"We're here," Nat informed everyone. "Home sweet home. I'll loop around the back?"

"Someone wake the kid up," Tony stretched in his seat.

No one moved. Everyone looked at him. 

"Who's gonna do it, Cap?" Clint snorted from the pilot's seat. "Hey, go hit him the head again buddy. That will wake him up."

Wanda crossed her arms with a smile, "Tony, he doesn't trust any of us."

"He doesn't trust me!" Tony protested. "He's mentioned that. Multiple times."

"If it was any of us, he'd freak, you know that," Natasha nodded, trying to hide a smile as she turned back around in her seat. 

Tony couldn't help but feel a little pride in that. He nods and sighs, getting to his feet and crossing the jet, before turning around and hissing, "Stop staring."

Peter's curled against the bench in the corner, his expression no longer calm. The kid's hands are clenched and his eyes are squeezed shut. He's flinching every couple of seconds, tensing, his hands shaking, his knuckles white. Some of his wounds have healed slightly though, which Tony is happy about. He takes a deep breath, afraid to wake the sleeping teen. 

Hesitantly, he places a hand on Peter's shoulder, "Kid? Hey, wake up-"

A fist flies out and catches him right across the face. Tony's head whips to the side, and he hits the floor with a groan. He winces, holding his nose, which thank God, isn't broken. "Holy crap!" he chuckles.

Peter jolts awake, scrambling back, his eyes flashing. Tony's actually scared by the fury in the 16 year old's eyes and he stays where he is on the floor until the dark look fades and is replaced with one of horror and realization. He didn't know what the heck that was, but it worried him. What that kid had gone through was something he could never begin to understand. What really scared him though was the fact that the kid was hiding it so well. That shouldn't come easily to a teenager. 

Peter looks down at Tony and winces, "Sorry."

"All good," Tony makes a face, smirking and attempting to lighten the mood and ease Peter's guilt. "You know, a lot of people wish they could do that, and never get to. Consider yourself lucky."

"Good punch kid!" Sam yells from behind him. Tony waves him off and Peter sheepishly grins, looking at Tony with worried eyes as the man gets up off the floor. 

"Sorry," he says again, sincerely. "Are you- are you ok?"

Tony grins, sniffing and rubbing a hand over his face, "I've had worse."

"Is everything ok- is HYDRA back? Did they find us-" Peter suddenly asks worriedly, jumping to his feet, his fists curling. There's a crazy look in his eyes. Tony recognizes that look as well. He wore the same one when Rhodey found him in Afghanistan. _I'm not going back._

Peter's eyes worried him. No kid should have gone through what Peter did, gotten hurt like he had- Tony can't think about what they did to him. He knew what Bucky went through, and that was when he was obeying. Nine years of determination, of fighting back...what does that do to someone? Let alone a kid...

Tony was terrified just thinking about it. He looked at Peter in sadness, only a second passing, the kid's eyes so desperate. There was a survival instinct that kicked in just then. He somehow knew that if given a choice, the teen would rather die than go back there. 

"HYDRA's gone Peter. Everything's fine," he promised. Peter's gaze returned to normal, but Tony doubted they would ever return to the eyes of a teenager. One who hadn't been put through 9 years of hell, one who hadn't been broken over and over again. One who hadn't been told he was nothing, tortured and punished. Peter looked down, as if he knew Tony was reading him somehow. 

It was true. Eyes gave away a person's story. Peter's was dark and horrifying and the boy knew that. But more importantly, he didn't want anyone else to read about it. 

"We're landing, and i didn't want you to freak out," Tony explained. He grins slightly, "But you did anyway. If that was worst case scenario, I guess I'll take it."

As if on cue the jet dips like Nat usually flies and Tony shouts behind him, "Easy Nat!" He grabs onto Peter's shoulders to steady him as the jet shakes slightly and Peter instinctively grabbed onto his arm, looking around nervously, gripping Tony's jacket in a fist.

"Sorry Peter!" Nat calls back. 

"It's- it's ok," Peter says, his brow furrowing at yet another person using his name. He justifies his look even though Tony already knows what it meant. "I just- haven't heard my name this much...in a while."

Then he looks down, noticing he's been fisting Tony's jacket and his hand uncurls and falls to his side in embarrassment. Tony pretends not to notice and Peter is clearly relieved. He sits up with his back against the bench and rubs his hands against his knees, "I'm good. I'm good."

"You sure?" Tony asks slowly. 

"Yeah," he says. He gives Tony an expression that clearly says _drop it_. 

Tony nods and then reaches to grab the water and protein bar that he left on the table for Peter who takes it and marvels at it for a second, looking at Tony as if for permission.

"You don't need to-" Tony starts to say. You don't need to ask for permission.

Before he can finish his sentence forever, Peter blinks and internally beats himself up for doing that, although Tony can tell that's a habit, something drilled into him, forced upon him. Visibly pissed with himself he acts in anger, ripping the cap off and guzzling half the bottle. 

"Slow down kid, there's more where it came from," Tony assured him as Peter ripped the protein bar open and took a big bite. 

Peter's hand grips the seat as the plane comes in for a smooth landing, before relaxing and nodding, "Uh, thanks." He looks out the window and frowns at the massive compound, looking at Tony in confusion, "Where- where are we?"

"We're home," Tony grins. 

Peter chokes on his water and scrambles to the window again, "That's your house?" 

"It's the Avengers compound," Tony explains. "I built it for the team, they each have their own rooms. It's a compound, but we have a wing specifically for us, which is the size of a pretty big mansion. But yes, this baby, is my house." He looks at Peter and also adds, "And now it's your house. I've got extra rooms kid. You can stay as long as you need."

"Wow," Peter admits, and Tony thinks he didn't hear that last part, even with his enhanced abilities. Peter turns to him in excitement, "Can we-" He looks back at the compound.

"Yeah," Tony grins, motioning forward. Peter slowly gets to his feet, and kills his happiness and excitement, as if reminding himself he's not allowed to have those emotions. He steps back and lets the Avengers pass, who all clump together, teasing one another as they grab their gear and head down the opening ramp. 

"Good punch," Rhodey whispers to Peter as he passes. "I'd kill to do that once in a while."

"That's enough Rhodes, move along," Tony laughs, waving his best friend by. 

"How come he gets away with it, but when I do it, I get in trouble?" Clint points at Tony with fake rage before laughing as Nat shoves him forward.

"Sorry for that landing Pete," she apologies sincerely. 

"It's Peter," he corrects, but less harshly. "And it's ok."

"I like him," she says to Tony, nodding at Peter as she walks away and calling over his shoulder, "He's tough!"

"Tony, we'll meet in conference room in 45?" Cap shouts, making sure that's ok with him. 

"Yeah, we'll be there!" Tony calls back.

"We?" Peter stutters.

"Yes, we," Tony nods. Then he hands Peter another water bottle as then they follow the Avengers down the ramp. Peter gets off the jet and gasps, looking at the compound with a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, another hand clutched over his side.

"Wow Mr. Stark," he stutters, his eyes wide, frozen in shock at the foot of the ramp as he stares at the massive building in front of him. He gulps. "That's..."

"I know it's a lot kid, but it gets smaller once you're inside, I promise," Tony grins, pushing him forward slightly to the ramp to the jet can close. "Come on, first we're stopping at the med bay."

Peter's eyes had a sparkle to them as Tony and he walked up the steps, something he doubted they had had in a very long time. He was silent as he walked closely to Tony, gazing at the massive doors, the bright windows and the endless driveways. It was a beautiful day. Green grass, slight breeze, blue sky. Tony had to smile at the kid's happiness. There came a point where Peter's smile faded, and he breathed deeper, stumbling every once in a while. 

Peter was overwhelmed, he could tell. So when the kid grabbed the railing for support, Tony caught him before he could crumple. 

The teen was breathing hard and he didn't say anything at first as Tony helped him regain his footing. Then he nodded firmly. "I'm- ok, really-"

Tony knew what Peter was going through right now to some extent. Getting out of that cave in Afghanistan was the best feeling he had had in the first time in months. He didn't want anything more than to sit outside and stare at the sun he had been deprived of. There was a certain cautious relief, trying to take in everything at once,m just in case it was suddenly ripped away from you as your life had been. It was exhausting, being that suspicious of everything around you, having this looming fear that hung over you. He couldn't imagine what Peter was feeling after nine years.

"I know," Tony assured him and he clapped Peter on the back who regained his confidence after a few seconds, starting up the big steps. The kid's grit and adrenaline kept him going, Tony could tell. What marveled him was that the amount of pain he knew Peter was in didn't show. 

Tony opened the door and Peter's jaw dropped at the massive room. He turned in a circle, sticking close to Tony, but allowing his eyes to shift in pure awe. The room was lit up by the sun bouncing off the windows, casting shadows on the floor. He saw the kid's eyes sweep over the balcony and the 2 upper levels before scanning everyone walking the back hallways, the corners, and behind them.

Tony realized it wasn't just awe, but caution. Peter had done an instinctive sweep of threats just then, and hid it so well. Tony knew that if anyone made a move, Peter would know exactly what they looked like and where they were.

"You'll be safe here Peter, don't worry," Tony said, trying to ease the kid who nodded and grinned genuinely, but still had a bit of restlessness behind his expression. Tony led him to a small cafe section and went behind the counter.

"What would you like kid? Name anything," he asked, pointing to the menu on the wall that had countless choices.

"Cheeseburger?" Peter said hopefully, looking at Tony for approval.

"Good choice," Tony grinned widely, taking out 3 pre-made and heated cheeseburgers and handing 2 to Peter. "You know when I got back, the first thing I wanted was a cheeseburger too," he chuckled.

"Back from where?" Peter asked, taking them gently and held them for a second, inspecting them. 

"Tell you later," Tony said before laughing slightly. "Well go on Pete, they're not poisoned."

Peter grinned and carefully unwrapped his own before taking a bite, his eyes widening, "Oh my God-"

"Right?" 

"That's really good," Peter admitted.

"Darn right it is. Come on. Med bay," Tony waved him on to the stairs and Peter followed, already almost done with his first cheeseburger. The kid stumbled and followed him, and they began the small climb up to the first level, Peter walking cautiously behind him. One of Tony's techs made their way down the hallway, his head in his clipboard and papers. Peter slid closer to the wall as they passed, his shoulders tensing. His eyes followed the tech until he was out of sight. 

Tony came to the elevator and pushed the button. Peter had been looking behind him and when he turned around he froze as the doors opened with a ding. Tony put one foot in the elevator and frowned. 

"Kid, you ok?"

"Can we-" Peter gulped, his hand curling his shirt in a fist, "can we- take the stairs?"

Tony saw the look in his eyes and immediately nodded. Peter was staring at the elevator, unable to look away. 

"Hey," Tony grabbed Peter's shoulders, turning him, but still the kid's eyes wouldn't leave it. Tony spoke clearly, trying to get through to the teen, "You're not back in that place. You got out. You're here now. Remember that."

Peter nodded firmly, still staring at the elevator. Tony saw his shaky fingers move towards his other arm, the pad of his thumb pressing down on a cut on the top of his hand, so hard it drew blood.

"Woah, hey-" Tony grabbed his wrist to stop him but Peter looked up.

"It keeps me grounded," Peter said quietly, his hands shaking and clenching. "It's different here. Not like in there. I- I can't explain it."

Tony didn't want to push him. He nods slowly and then nods his head towards the hallway. The elevator dings shut and Peter flinches. 

"Come on Pete," he says gently. "Stairs."

Peter takes a deep breath and nods, continuing to walk with Tony down the hallway to the stairs. When they made it to the med bay Peter was roughly back to normal- or as normal as you could get after what that kid had gone through. He was quiet, still in shock. 

Peter finished his second sandwich as he took a seat on one of the tables. Tony saw the kid look at the empty wrapping and grinned. He handed Peter his burger that he hadn't opened yet. 

The kid immediately shook his head, "No- Mr. Stark I'm ok-"

"Kid, take it. I'm not hungry. Pinky promise and all that crap. Just take the frickin sandwich," Tony urged, laughing as he tossed it to Peter. 

The boy caught it happily as Tony went to go get some supplies to stitch a cut. He also went to the far closet and pulled out an extra change of clothes and Stark Industries hoodie that was about Peter's size. When he came back the teen was looking around anxiously, his fingers curled around the table. His head snapped to face Tony before he even made a noise. That's right...Tony had forgotten about his 6th sense. 

"Ok, well, let's get that side stitched up-" he said.

"Tony, it's fine," Peter started. 

Tony glared at him, "No, it's not-"

Peter shook his head, "No, literally. Look." He pulled up his shirt and Tony saw the cut was almost gone, the deep gash that he had seen had disappeared. Tony checked to make sure it just wasn't on his right side, but no, the stain matched up perfectly with a thin slice. 

"Healing factor," Peter said. 

"You heal that quickly?" Tony said, both in awe and horror. HYDRA had obviously known that. What amount of pain did he have to go through, and not have any lasting impacts, no reason for them to slow down. Each day was a new one for them, almost as if they could start over. 

Peter shrugged. 

Tony offered up the clothes and sweatshirt. "I don't know if these will fit, but they're clean and they're warm."

"Thanks," Peter said, taking the clothes carefully and rubbing the fabric.

"There's a bathroom to the right, use anything in there, i don't care. If you want to get cleaned up-"

"Tony!"

Peter jumped off the table and landed in a crouch, jumping and pointing his arm towards the woman who ran in. 

"Woah, woah, Pete, easy-" Tony directed, jogging to meet Pepper who hugged him hard, her hands in his hair. He kissed her and grinned, "Told you I'd be back."

"They said the building crumbled down and they had to get you out-" she said firmly, her eyes flashing. "Is Clint just pulling my leg?"

"Not....really," he said slowly. Pepper smacked him on the chest and Tony laughed, "Ow!" He caught her up in his arms and kissed her again, "Hey at least I'm not dead. You can thank the kid for that."

"Kid..." Pepper trailed off and then she looked over his shoulder and her eyes widened when she saw Peter, who smartly had put on the sweatshirt while Tony reunited with Pep. It covered up most of the blood; she couldn't see his legs due to the table. "Oh my God- hi- sorry, I- why is his-"

"Hey, Pete, arm down, come on," Tony sighed and Peter lowered it cautiously. "This is Pepper, my fiance."

Pepper rolled her eyes, and smiled at Peter, "Hi. And no, I'm not qualified to be called his fiance yet because he hasn't asked me."

Peter frowned, "How long have you two-"

"8 years," she raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Peter turned to look at Tony, making a face, "And you haven't asked her-"

"I like him," Pepper announced. 

"Honey," Tony said, "I'm waiting for the right-"

"Honey," Pepper mocked. 

"Hey, by the way kid, who's side are you on?" Tony pointed at Peter who gave a small grin. He sighed, "Peter Pepper, Pepper Peter, picked a peck of pickled-" Tony cut his act at Pepper's look of annoyance. 

"Is that- blood?" Pepper started forward, recognizing the cuts on Peter's face. "You poor thing-"

"It's really hard to explain," Tony said quickly in response to the wide eyed pleading look Peter gave him, saving the teen from having to say anything that would remind him of the past hour. He took Pepper's hand and started to lead her to the door, talking to Peter, "The conference room is just down this hall to the right. I can come back if you want, really, I don't want you-"

"No, I-I can find my way," Peter assured him.

"You sure?" Tony asks, and Peter nods.

"Yea." 

"Ok, if you need anything. Ask FRIDAY. Just say her name, she'll talk back. You two will get along," Tony grinned.

"You sure you don't need anything?" Pepper called.

"I'm good," Peter says quietly.

"He's good, he's good," Tony said. 

"Nice to meet you Peter," Pepper said, smiling at him. 

"Nice to...meet you too."

The doors closed. 

* * *

Peter took a deep breath and went to the first door closest to where Tony was pointing. He turned the knob and found it was a closet. Closing it carefully, he went one over and opened that one, this time rewarded. 

Stepping inside the bathroom he set the clothes down on the counter and took off the sweatshirt. Then slowly, he peeled off the blood crusted shirt he was wearing and then dropped it in the trash. Without looking at the mirror he looked to the right and saw a washcloth. 

He looked down at the sink and saw 2 knobs. In the cell there had been 2 knobs but only 1 had worked. The cold water on the right. So, Peter tried the left and brushed his fingers underneath the stream, recoiling as he felt it was rather warm. He dipped his hands under, letting the water run over them and took a shaky breath. Desperately he splashed it onto his face, drips running down his cheeks and forehead and returning to the water, staining it red. Tears combine with the water and Peter feels a weight ift of his shoulders as more relief floods him.

He cupped his hands and splashed the water over his face, breathing deeply as the hot water was a welcomed feeling. He wiped off the dried blood and ducked his head under the facet to get that wet as well and free his curls from the blood and dirt they had been clumped together with. Running a hand over his face and shaking off the excess water, he takes a deep breath. 

Slowly, he raises his gaze and makes eye contact with himself in the mirror. His throat closes up and his lungs get tight. Peter breaths deeply, wincing as sudden pain pierces through his head. That's not him. That can't be him.

"Breathe Peter, come on," he says angrily. He exhales, pressing his hands to his temples as he slides to the floor, water dripping down his hair and falling to his bare chest and down his back. 

He winces as he feels the hits he took earlier that morning. He grabs his side as he feels the stab he took without even screaming. The lights are too bright, suddenly reminding him of the big light that would hang in whatever room he had been in, present in every single one, for every day of the past 9 years.

He feels a knife slide across his skin. 

"Up!" 

"Again!"

"I can't-"

The light swings and Peter ducks his head, wincing and squinting. He grabs the counter for support and stands, still covering his eyes. He turns off the light before sliding down the wall back to the floor again with a massive sigh of relief as the constant yelling in his mind fades. 

Better. 

He blinked in the dark, his eyes adjusting and ran another hand through his hair. 

You're not back there Peter. You're not. You got away. You got out. 

Peter inhales, his head pounding.

You really think you got out?

Peter freezes, waiting, but nothing. He pushes his back up against the counter even harder, staring to tremble.

You really want to have hope...after all this time?

Peter finally opens his eyes, suddenly back in the HYDRA base. He scrambles to his feet in shock, almost falling again, his eyes widening again. No. No, no, no, no- not possible. He shuts his eyes and shakes his head, "Stop it. Stop it!"

He blinks and staggers, a ringing starting in his ears. There's the familiar screaming in his ears. 

He can hear his own heartbeat, making his mind spin. He feels dizzy, unable to focus. A slow rising pain occurs. When he opens his eyes he's still in the hallway. Nothing's changed.

You think you can escape us? This? Your life? What you were meant to be?

No- no- no-

"You never got out."

"Shut up," he seethes, squeezing his eyes shut again. 

"I told you Pete, you're mine."

He violently shakes his head, "No."

"I know you."

"Get out."

"You'll never truly escape it."

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Peter screams, the ringing getting too loud, everything getting too overwhelming. He lashes out with his fist as hard as he can and feels it sink through- 

Peter suddenly jolts back to reality at the sound of a giant crash and feels a sharp pain in his fist. The bits of the mirror crumples off in pieces and falls to the ground in the dark room. Peter stares up in shock, seeing the hole he made in the wall and glancing around at the glass on the floor. The mirror he had been staring at a second ago was shattered, in pieces around him, some lodged in the hand he used to punch it with. 

Peter falls against the sink, his hands gripping either side with white knuckles. His chest and shoulders rise and fall and he desperately tries to control his breathing, bowing his head, tears falling down his cheeks and dropping into the sink that's stained red. With shaking hands he turns the water back on and puts his injured hand under, letting the blood wash off of it, gritting his teeth as he has to pick out the pieces of glass in the dark.

He pulls the new shirt on over his head but not before he can see all the scars even in the dark. It wasn't the first time he had seen them. But it was different now. He knew he had to go out in the real world and live with them now, they weren't only shown to the people who made them. The shadows darkened his face and for a second, Peter was actually scared of the person staring back at him through the broken mirror.

Breathing hard he yanks his shirt down and then puts on the sweatshirt again, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his wet hair. Looking up at the shattered mirror, he barely recognizes himself, mostly because there weren't a lot of mirrors where he was kept. Crying out and gasping for desperately needed air he stumbles back into the wall and sinks to the floor with his head in his hands. Tears come to his eyes and he lets them fall until they cant anymore. His breathing only slows when his lungs are too exhausted to hyperventilate.

And then he spends the next 3 minutes trying to work on a convincing expression. One that will hide the pain. He can’t see himself that well due to the light being off, but he was ok with the darkened room. When he's composed himself and has successfully stopped the tears he opens the door, squinting in the light, only to hear something scraping. He looks down to see that pile of glass he made is still there. He’s an idiot- why wouldn’t it be there? Crap. Peter curses, starting to move some of the pieces around with his foot, bending down to start picking them up.

_"You can leave it, it's quite alright."_

Peter jumps, falling against the sink and putting out his arm in alarm, looking around the bathroom in shock. 

_"I didn't mean to startle you, I'm sorry."_

The A.I. Tony had talked about..."FRIDAY, right?" Peter says cautiously, lowering his arm. 

_"Yes. And it is quite okay if you leave that."_

"What about the hole in the wall?" Peter asks, looking through it and winces. He hadn't meant to, he had just lost control. He flicks off a piece of hanging glass and sighs. 

_"A Thursday for Mr. Stark."_

Peter almost grins. Almost. He's currently trying to stop the blood from dripping from his hand and has no choice but to run it under the water again. 

_"Bandages are in the 3rd counter on your left in the med bay,"_ FRIDAY offers. 

"It will heal soon, it's fine," he said curtly. 

_"Tony would have me insist,"_ she urges. 

"Ok, which cabinet?" Peter asks, following her directions. He starts to bandage up his hand, making sure it's secure. He never really got to use bandages.

_"I did notice you were showing signs of discomfort a minute ago. Would you like me to contact Mr. Stark?"_

"No," Peter shakes his head. "No, I'm- I'm good."

_"May I ask what was wrong? My systems show you experienced an anxiety attack."_

Peter chuckled, "Tell me something I don't know."

_"The average male is-"_

"You take things very literal, don't you?" Peter notices, crossing his arms to get himself warmer.

_"Appears so. Roughly 10 minutes until the meeting in the conference room."_

"Ok, I'm gonna stay in here a bit, if you don't mind."

_"I don't mind. Would you like me to stay?"_

"Sure," Peter shrugged, sinking to the floor, his back pressed against the nearest table, rubbing his hand.

_"How are you feeling?"_

"In shock," Peter admits.

_"That's normal."_

"Well, I'm not normal, so I guess that's good," Peter smiles sadly, looking down at his legs that were sprawled out on the ground. The new sweatpants he changed into were soft and warm, like nothing he had ever felt. 

_"I've analyzed your vitals. They are incredible,"_ FRIDAY remarks. 

Peter frowns, "Thanks, I guess?"

_"The enhancements are significant. Speed, Agility-"_

"Hearing, strength, yeah. I've had them recited to me. And been tested on every single one of them," Peter says darkly. Then he perks up, taking advantage of the silence he had caused the A.I. to deliver. "Do you think there's a way to get rid of them?"

 _"No Peter, I'm afraid not,"_ FRIDAY says sadly. _"I'm sorry."_

"It's ok," Peter shrugs. "I kind of knew the answer."

 _"It appears you have only gotten 4 hours of sleep in the past 3 days,"_ FRIDAY says, and Peter swears he hears worry in her voice. 

"I don't sleep well. Haven't for...well as long as I can remember," Peter admits. 

_"A few members of the Avengers such as Mr. Rhodes and Buchanan Barnes have experience with trauma and PTSD. I would suggest talking to them. Barnes was a HYDRA captive for some time as well."_

Peter scoffs and shakes his head, "No offense FRIDAY, but I don't talk to anyone about my issues. I haven't. For 9 years."

 _"I understand,"_ FRIDAY says. _"Trust is a hard thing to gain back."_

"It's not trust, well it is. Just that-" Peter stopped and chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "Oh, no. I see what you're doing here. I'm not about to talk about my problems to some random day of the week. I'm fine, just a little shaken up, like I should be. And I don't trust anyone. I don't need to. It's better if you don't trust anyone anyway."

_"Do you trust me?"_

"Uh," Peter frowned. "No?"

 _"It seems you trust Mr. Stark,"_ FRIDAY points out.

Peter makes a face, "Seems like- no, I don't, ok? I don't know who any of these people are. I've just known Tony the longest, that's all."

_"They want to help."_

"Yeah sure, they're all saints," Peter laughed. "America tried to decapitate me." 

_"I don't have an answer to excuse Captain Rogers actions,"_ FRIDAY admitted. 

"Ha, see?" Peter narrowed his eyes. 

_"Tony does frequently mention that he is a...well I think it's best I not repeat the word Mr. Stark uses."_

Peter smirks, smoothing out his bandage. He's growing restless so finally he grabs the top of the table and hauls himself up, steadying and regaining his balance as his vision, which turned white for a second, clears. 

"Where's Tony?" Peter asks, not wanting to be by himself anymore. He had been alone long enough, and he knew he would break if he gave himself the chance. Someone around him made him stronger, because he had more determination to be strong for them. 

_"Waiting in the conference room,"_ FRIDAY supplied.

"Ok, I'm gonna go. Thanks, FRIDAY," Peter says.

 _"It was good talking to you Peter,"_ she says politely.

Peter doesn't really know what to say to that so he pushes open the door and heads down the hallway, hiding his shaking hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo how was ittttt? Tell me what you think and what you hope to see coming up!!!!  
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!  
> Sorry this wasn't action packed, most of the following ones will be a little more AHHHH ish if that makes any sense. I have a really good idea that I was gonna try and pack into this chapter but it would have made it too long and I already went over my usual for this story so expect that NEXT CHAPTER and ur gonna hate love it. It's like I can't write short chapters wth.  
> Ok also! So next chapter.....as Christmas approaches, I get busy, so when I am home I will write, when I am not home, I am not writing, so bear with me! It may get a little delayed due to the holidays, but once new years hits, I'll be back in the groove. SO new chapter coming ASAP! And omg get ready for it, it's gonna be a great one.  
> Thank you so much for reading and thank you for all your support!  
> I love you 3000 <3


	4. Stories and Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the spirit of Christmas (merry christmas eve) it's a longer one! Just a tiny bit longer but it's something <3  
> I like this one a lot so I hope you enjoy it, since Ross is always a fav in my fics haha. I love the idea of the Avengers playing football if you can't tell.  
> I am surprised with myself that I cranked this one out, but I like the result :)  
> I hope you enjoy!!

"So when Ross sees Peter, he's gonna be pissed," Sam says, chucking the football at Tony who scoots backwards in his chair to catch it. Then he uses his feet to move himself forward and lofts it to Steve. 

"When is he not pissed?" Tony points out. 

"Well, I think we can all agree that Peter's not going anywhere with him," Wanda said simply. 

Everyone in the room nodded. Tony checked his watch; they were still waiting on a few, including Peter. Tony had changed into his favorite Iron Maiden shirt and jeans and Pepper had stitched up a cut on his eyebrow along with asking a million questions about the new teenager she claimed Tony had 'adopted'. Part of him wanted to go make sure that kid was ok. 

"I don't know how that kid is still alive, but he's not HYDRA," Bucky said firmly.

The ball got tipped and headed for the center piece in the middle of the table, stopped by red energy as Wanda flicked the ball back to Sam, who threw it. 

"Thanks Wanda," Tony piped up. "Good save."

"He's very confined," Vision says, rubbing his chin. "The boy is not open with us. I don't think he will be. He's desperately trying to hide his past."

"He's had to. For nine years," Rhodey said, gesturing with his hand, "You say how skittish he was with me. With all of us. Tony's the only one he kind of trusts- i know, i know, he doesn't even trust you yet," Rhodey put up his hands as Tony started to interject. 

"You said he's got powers Tony?" Clint asked, catching a ball one handed and tossing it to Rhodey who spun it in his hand. 

"Yea," Tony said slowly. "It's...hard to explain."

"Well we haven't seen them yet, has anyone?" Natasha asks. Everyone shakes their heads. She nods, "That's good then. Means he can control it."

"I mean other than his strength. And reflexes." Sam says.

"And that's not even his main power, just enhancements," Tony nods.

"He can probably run as fast as you Cap," Sam adds. "Competition."

"i doubt the kid can-" Cap started.

"I had to fire up my blasters to keep up with him and that was his jog," Tony pointed out. 

"Race time," Clint grinned. 

"We're not doing that to the kid," Wanda said, slapping him on the arm. 

"Well you know, later, when he's more adjusted," Clint explained. 

"He may not want to stay here. I hope you all realize that is a possibility," Bucky speaks. 

Tony frowns. Just then, the door is pushed open at the end of the room. Peter gently opens it and peeks in. 

"Hey kid," Tony calls. 

Peter gives him a weak smile, his eyes sweeping the room, scanning everyone in it, every corner, clearly on edge. Tony can't blame him. The kid looks better though, much better, probably better than he has in a very long time, and he's glad. He's changed out of his old clothes and into new ones, his curls damp and relatively clean. His face is no longer covered in blood and dirt, and most of his cuts have faded. If one didn't know him, or didn't see the on edge look in his eyes that Tony saw, he could pass for a normal kid.

Tony then sees a flash of red hair behind him and before he can even blink, he watches Peter's eyes gloss over and narrow. His 6th sense obviously sending alerts through his brain, the kid tenses and swings, flipping backwards and landing in a perfect crouch. 

Natasha, who spars daily, had no problem ducking as Peter's arm passed over her head with such force it probably would have killed her. She drops and tucks, rolling backward into the hallway, flipping hair out of her face to reveal a smirk, "You're gonna have to do better than that."

The Avengers, who sneak up behind one another often, aren't phased and they continue throwing the football around. 

Peter stands, breathing hard, his hands dropping to his sides, "Sorry. Habits."

"Tony, why didn't you duck?" Clint asks, getting a football to the chest as he laughs. 

Nat gets to her feet and grins, "Nice reflexes kid." Then she walks by, winking at him and taking her spot at the table. Choruses of 'hey Nat' domino around the table. Tony waves Peter over, pointing to a chair next to him and the teen walks over, nearly shouldering the wall as he rounds the table. 

"So in a minute- woah," Tony stops, focusing on a bandage that was new, wrapping around the kid's palm. He was almost 100% sure it wasn't there when he left Peter to get cleaned up. The kid tries to hide it but Tony speaks seriously, "What happened to your hand?"

"You're gonna need a new mirror," Peter winces, looking at Tony rather fearfully. "And maybe a new wall."

Tony looks at him for a second and then shrugs, "Ok."

Peter's slightly startled by that, Tony can tell, but clearly grateful that Tony didn't get mad. He gets it. He's lost control a couple times in his life, especially due to PTSD, doing much worse things than just breaking a wall or mirror. Or both. This kid has gone through a lot in this day itself, let alone the past 9 years of his life.

"Ok, recap time," Tony clasps his hands as everyone settles down.

"Special forces and SHIELD infiltrated what was left of the base. Confirmed no survivors, all exits blocked, and the remaining technology has been confiscated," Natasha states happily. 

"They're supposed to be sent on a truck to Headquarters, but we've pulled a few strings and sent the big stuff here. Tony will take a look at it later to dig up what we can," Steve grins slyly. "But Ross doesn't need to know that."

"Hopefully it will give us leads on HYDRA. We've got SHIELD going through information on overseas bases and operations. It's been quiet for a while, but that does't mean it's over," Sam adds.

"Ross will want a full report when he calls in a couple minutes, and we will be truthful," Rhodey says pointedly. 

"For once," Clint snickers. 

"The story is the exact same, got it? I know he's not gonna like the fact that we got Peter out of there, but frankly, I think we all agree we never really cared what he thinks," Tony shrugs. 

"Who- who's he?" Peter asks in confusion. 

"Thaddeus Ross," Vision says. "US Secretary of State. Former General in the United States Army."

"He oversees the Avengers, but in actuality, he doesn't. He tells me to do something, and I usually say no. We have a love hate relationship," Tony grins. 

"Mostly hate," Rhodey says. "I have to deal with him more than you do."

"Mostly hate," Tony agrees.

"What does he want with me?" Peter asked nervously.

Bucky looks up at the kid sadly, "HYDRA usually doesn't leave people alive kid. You of all people know that."

"He won't like that we...didn't follow orders," Tony words that carefully. "Not that he can do anything about it but whine," he adds quickly.

"And if he tries to do something other than whine, we'll stop him," Sam said with his arms crossed.

"But I didn't do anything," Peter urges, his hands tightening on the seat.

"We know kid," Steve said. "Trust me, we know."

Peter nods at him and then relaxes slightly. Just then the pull down screen descends in front of the table and the ceiling opens up to lower the projector. The teen jumps, pushing himself back a bit from the table, on high alert. 

Tony puts a hand on his shoulder, "Easy. Let us do the talking, ok?"

Peter nods, watching the screen warily. Tony pulls up a keypad and swipes right. On the TV the 'ANSWER' button his pushed and Ross appears in the middle, his feet up at his desk. 

"Hey Ross, I hope you're having a great day-" Tony shakes his head, "No guys, I can't do it. Hey Thunderbolt, how's that new desk treating you?"

"Tony I think there's someone on the other line," Sam says helpfully. 

_"Stark-"_ Ross warns. 

"Hold please," Tony says politely and pushes a button. The image freezes and Tony drums his fingers on the desk. Peter's looking around in confusion at everyone who has just resumed tossing the football around as if this was a normality, which it was. Every time. "I like to watch the line blink," he explains to Peter who smirks. 

"Ok back in 3, 2, 1," Steve says as Tony pushes the button and everyone looks up again, Sam hiding the football. 

_"That better have been an important call,"_ Ross hisses. 

"Your mom," Clint coughs under his breath. 

"Real mature Clint," Nat whispers back, kicking his chair; her feet are casually up on the table. 

"Oh it was," Tony says sincerely. "We have our report ready for you."

 _"And I'm all ears-"_ Ross says before he suddenly stops. _"Stark, who is that?"_

Tony looks over at Peter who straightens fiercely and he grins, "Pete."

Ross looks like he's about to explode, which makes Tony's day and he says through gritted teeth, _"Who is he and why is he in this room?"_

"Peter's part of our story," Cap explains, proceeding to go into detail on how the mission went, highlighting points on how Peter had helped them get out and saved Tony's life. He was always the more eloquent speaker. Rhodey kicked Tony whenever he tried to interject with a sarcastic comment, which Tony was grateful for in the long run. They couldn't risk pissing Ross off. Not yet, at least.

 _"How old are you kid?"_ Ross demands. 

Peter sneers, "You first."

Tony whistles, and the Avengers snicker.

"I'm sixteen," Peter says fiercely. 

With fury in his eyes, Ross takes a breath and turns his gaze to Tony, _"Stark, I'm going to have to ask you turn Peter-"_

"No," Tony says firmly before the man can even finish his sentence. 

Ross narrows his eyes, his hands curling into fists, _"Excuse me?"_

"Can he not hear us?" Natasha asked, staring dead at Ross. "Someone check the volume."

"He's not going anywhere with you," Steve said. "He saved our lives. He's staying here."

 _"I don't think you understand the amount of authority I have over you,"_ Ross said angrily. 

"Which is none," Sam said. "When was the last time you told us to do something and we actually did it?"

 _"Mr. Wilson, getting smart, are we?"_ Ross remarked. 

"Stay behind your desk Ross, you really are better when it's all written down for you," Clint sighed.

 _"He is a HYDRA operative!"_ Ross insists. _"I have jurisdiction-"_

"I'm not HYDRA," Peter speaks up angily. "I spent half my life fighting HYDRA and they wiped my memory of the other half. I hate the organization more than anyone combined and I thought that by getting out of there I would be done with them, not have them define my life."

 _"As well put as that is, Pete-"_ Ross snarls mockingly. 

"It's Peter," Peter shoots back in fury. 

_"As well put as that is, Peter, you know nothing about the world, or HYDRA,"_ Ross sniffs. 

Tony slams his fist down on the table, he and Bucky the most pissed out of all the Avengers who are ready jump and yell, but the kid has it under control.

The teenager scoffs and stares Ross down. "Really?" Peter snarls. "Really? And you do? Sitting behind that desk?"

"You're gonna fit in great," Sam grinned.

 _"That's enough,"_ Ross says, looking at Tony pointedly. Tony raises an eyebrow and looks at him unknowingly, pleading innocent before smirking.

"It's rude to look away from someone you're talking to," Peter snaps, staring Ross straight in the eye. "I'm sorry you feel uncomfortable when someone exposes you, but it's about time."

The Secretary is at a loss for words and he looks at the rest of the Avengers in shock. 

"Sorry Ross, but you can't make accusations on someone just because you don't like them," Wanda smiles. 

"If that was true we would have gotten rid of you a long time ago," Clint mumbles.

Ross regains his composure and he narrows his eyes, sitting up in his chair. He turns to Peter, _"Listen here kid. There are bad people in this world. You might be apart of that group of individuals. I'm trying to make sure that no one gets hurt because of you-"_

Tony reaches and turns off the connection before Ross can say anything else. He turns to Peter, "Kid, things are gonna get heated. He's a moron. You might want to step out for a bit, ok? I think Pepper is 4 doors down the hallway to the left."

"Wait-" Peter protests angrily. He narrows his eyes and Tony nods firmly but subtly, giving him a silent message: _Go. Now. You don't want to be here for this._

They had gotten pretty good at speaking to each other through gazes ever since they met. They had a fight within a millisecond and Tony's plead won. Sure enough, Peter nods and gets up from his seat, quickly leaving the room with a short, "Fine."

Tony waits until the door's shut and then sighs. Everyone takes a minute to rub their head and steel themselves.

"Oh great, you're still here," Tony groaned, putting his head in his hands as Steve resumes the call. 

_"Let's go over the possibility that he could be working for them. Maybe he got out on purpose?"_ Ross says firmly. 

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tony shouts. "How messed up are you! He's sixteen!"

Ross shakes his head, crossing his arms, _"The world is a messed up place Stark, you can never be too cautious."_

"The last man who said that wrapped himself in bubble wrap. You want to go wrap yourself in bubble wrap, by all means. But don't you come accusing a kid of being used by the same organization that made his life hell for nine years," Tony hissed. 

_"This what I mean by boundaries,"_ Ross stated again. _"You all have none. When is it enough for this team?"_

A huge groan echoed among the table. 

"Don't start this again," Wanda snapped. 

"Bringing up an argument in hopes to solidify your statement is one of the worst ways to express your point," Vision pointed out. 

"What Vision said," Sam pointed. 

"All due respect," Bucky spoke up. "I think I know more about HYDRA than any of you and I'm telling you right now, I thought this kid was a threat, I was wrong. He's just the strongest sixteen year old I've ever met."

 _"Strong is dangerous,"_ Ross insisted.

"Is that why you only bench press 10 pounds?" Tony shot. "The kid was never a HYDRA agent. He saved our lives, and no, before you ask, there's no imaginary tracker inside of him either," Tony said furiously. "Heck, I've run his vitals, FRIDAY's been monitoring him. There's nothing wrong with this kid! He's scared and he's alone and you just made me send him outside because you can't act like an adult!"

 _"So you're telling me he doesn't have any enhanced ability?"_ Ross countered.

"If having advanced abilities is a crime Ross, than we should all be in jail," Wanda leaned back in her chair. 

"As I recall, our 'enhancements' have been the result of quite good things- saving your life on multiple occasions," Vision pointed out. 

_"We need to talk,"_ Ross decides, sounding like a teacher at a parent-teacher conference. 

"And you need to listen," Tony snaps. 

_"In person,"_ Ross clarifies. 

"Sure, let me just drop everything and work on your freaking problem. You know my address Ross," Tony glares harshly.

 _"There's no way around this Stark. That goes for all of you. He needs to come in,"_ Ross snarled. 

"Where? The Raft?" Steve snarled. 

_"That would be a good place to start, yes,"_ Ross nodded. 

"He's sixteen!" Wanda shouted.

"You really think, someone who has been held captive half their life wants to be detained and experimented on?" Bucky asked, shaking his head. "I've been there-"

 _"All due respect Mr. Barnes-"_ Ross starts but Sam won't let him finish, defending his friend.

"'All due respect?'" he splutters. "Bucky knows more about HYDRA then you do, you better respect his frickin opinion. To think that you see yourself higher than anyone in this room is wrong. To call a kid, who spent his life being tortured by these people, a criminal is even worse." He shakes his head, "What's wrong with you?" Sam snaps. "Seriously."

"He was dropped as a baby," Clint explains. 

"Oh."

"You know _nothing_ about the kid Ross," Tony snarls. "And I will die before I let you hurt an innocent teenager because you're too stuck up and power hungry to admit when you've gone too far."

 _"You're acting like you know him Stark. Didn't you just meet him a couple hours ago? You sure your personal feelings aren't clouding your judgement?"_ Ross smiled cockily. 

"You son of a-" Tony got up out of his chair in anger, his eyes flashing. Rhodey quickly stood, putting a hand on his chest to hold him back. 

"Easy- Tony, stop-" Rhodes demanded before turning to Ross and hissing, "Wipe that smile off your face Secretary."

"That's enough Ross. His judgement isn't clouded. None of ours are. I'd say its yours," Steve said firmly, also getting to his feet. 

"He saved my life," Tony spat, still pushing against Rhodey. "And I regret saving yours. You're one of the reasons the world should end, you know that? Because of idiots like you who are somehow put in charge."

 _"Oh I'm so hurt,"_ Ross sighed, leaning back in his chair. 

"Screw you," Tony spat. 

"Look Ross, the kid has been through a lot," Natasha said firmly. "He'll stay here, we'll let him adjust, and then he'll either try and be a normal kid again, or he'll stay."

 _"And what, become an Avenger?"_ Ross snorted. 

"You know what, maybe. Just to spite you," Tony snarled. "Because he's talented, and smart. But also because he's _a good kid._ "

 _"I'll be the judge of that,"_ Ross said, narrowing his eyes. 

"Tony-" Steve warned but that sent Stark off the edge. 

"You listen to me," Tony pushed past Rhodey and walked right up to the camera, his voice dangerously calm. The Avengers knew to stay in their seats, Steve and Rhodey still standing but simply watching. "You aren't getting near that kid. Because if you do, I will end you and I will end your career. I will make you scared to even step out of that prissy little office you have."

 _"Are you threatening me Stark?"_ Ross almost looked amused. 

Tony didn't miss a beat. "Yes. Yes, I am. You touch him, you're dead, you understand me? This is your only warning." Tony hissed. 

Ross smiled, but Tony saw the flicker of hatred as a furious understanding passed between them. The recording shut off and Tony relaxed his shoulders, still breathing hard.

"I swear to God, he's not getting to that kid," Natasha stated. "Just putting that out there."

"Agreed," Rhodey said, sinking back down in his seat. 

"We won't let him Tony," Steve said. 

Tony finally turned around, "I will kill him if I have to."

"You can't kill him," Sam said weakly, seeming like even he didn't agree with what he was saying.

"Watch me," Tony swore, and he was half telling the truth. 

There was silence around the table. Tony sighed, turning off the projector and rolling the screen back up. He set his hands flat on the table, his heel tapping against the floor. He bites the inside of his cheek before he stands up and starts to walk to the door.

"Tony," Steve calls.

Tony ignores him and walks out.

Peter closed the door gently but didn't move for a second. He checked to make sure no one was in the hallway before he exhaled sharply and pressed his back against the door, sliding to the ground with his head in his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut, his enhanced hearing picking up a little bit of what was going on behind the door. 

It was muffled but he heard Tony groan, "Oh great, you're still here."

 _"Let's go over the possibility that he could be working for them. Maybe he got out on purpose?"_

Peter froze at that. Oh God....could that be possible? No. There's no way. It was unplanned. HYDRA isn't that smart....are they- no. He got out. He escaped. He's done with HYDRA. They're gone. They can't hurt him anymore. Darn it Peter, not here. Keep it together. Focus.

What's wrong with you? Snap out of it. His head starts to hurt and Peter winces, sinking further to the ground, pressing his palms to his temples. 

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tony shouts in anger from inside. "How messed up are you! He's sixteen!"

_"The world is a messed up place Stark, you can never be too cautious."_

"The last man who said that wrapped himself in bubble wrap. You want to go wrap yourself in bubble wrap, by all means. But don't you come accusing a kid of being used by the same organization that made his life hell for nine years."

Peter smiled slightly at that, trying to steady his breathing. Tony was right. He was ok.

 _"This what I mean by boundaries. Y_ _ou all have none. When is it enough for this team?"_

A massive groan ensued, chaos erupting from behind the door. Peter grabbed the door frame to pull himself up and steadied himself using the wall. 

"Don't start this again," he heard Wanda snap. 

Peter took that as his cue to go and started walking down the hallway. What had Tony said? 4 doors down the left hallway? Peter turned left and then peeked in the 4th door. His eyes widened and he marveled as he walked in. 

The lab was amazing, like nothing he had ever seen. So many machines, clearly made from scratch but so perfect, flawless. Iron Man suits lined the back walls, 2 pulled out and positioned on a platform, an empty chair next to one, with a screwdriver and hammer laying vacant on the table. Peter turned in a circle, looking over all the high tech screens, the see through cabinets that housed every tool ever built...

His hairs stood up and Peter spun, his eyes suddenly flicking over to a door that opened. Pepper walked through, stopping when she saw him, setting down her clipboard. 

"Hi Peter," she greeted him kindly. 

"Hi," he said awkwardly. "I- uh, got kicked out. Well, not...kicked out. Tony said it would get heated. There was yelling-"

"Ross?" she sighed knowingly.

Peter nods. 

Pepper makes a face, "Well no one cares for him anyway." Then she cocks her head slightly, "You look better," she noticed.

"Thanks," he says awkwardly, fisting the sweatshirt in his hands and wringing it tightly.

She gave him a smile, "Don't worry Pete-"

Peter winces, "It's- it's Peter." Then he adds, "Please."

Pepper laughs at his expression, "Don't feel bad. I hate it when people call me Pep except Tony. I know how it is."

Peter relaxed a bit, "Yeah."

"Tony explained a little bit to me," she said helpfully.

"Oh, ok." He didn't know what else to say to that. 

"If you need anything, ask FRIDAY where to find me, ok?" she said sincerely.

Peter nodded, "I will. Uh, thanks."

It was so weird to have people care about him. It was always tell me if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me, I'll be over here if you need me, are you doing ok- Peter wasn't used to that. At all. He was new to have people actually caring about him, asking him if he was ok, wanting to help him. He didn't need help. He had taken care of himself for nine years. He didn't need anyone to start now. Still, although Peter wouldn't admit it, it was....nice. He had dreamed of the day when someone did that, and to be perfectly honest, it was better than what he imagined, and that shocked him. 

"You like the lab, huh?"

Peter realizes he's looking around with a small smile on his face and he quickly stops, snapping his head back and blushing. "Yeah...it's- it's really cool."

"Let me give you a quick tour," she joked before she waved her hand over to the nearest Iron Man suit. "This is his latest model, right FRIDAY?"

_"Yes ma'am."_

Peter jumps, "FRIDAY's in here too?"

"In almost every room of the entire compound," Pepper nods. "What model is this?"

_"Mark XLVI aka Mark 46."_

"That's really cool," Peter finds himself saying without even thinking about what he wanted to say first what the heck are you doing- he takes a breath. Come on, Peter, don't get comfortable here. 

"He spends most nights down here," Pepper nods. "Working, analyzing. As you can probably guess he started on Mark 1," Then she points, "That's the first time that table section has been cleaned, but it's not because Tony is tidy, it's because there's where the shipment is coming of all the tech," she laughs lightly. Sure enough there's a white section of tables all lined up with dark screens ready to be used surrounding them. 

Then she walks to the other side where there's a massive screen. "This is used for tracking. Tony can track people, packages, technology, signals, pretty much anything."

"Wow. Where did he get all this stuff?" Peter asked, running his hand along the side of the screen. Then he recoils and looks back to Pepper in fear, worried she's going to get mad. 

She puts a hand on his shoulder and smiles sweetly, "Kid, this isn't a do not touch museum. Go for it. And to answer your question, he made it. All of it. Everything you see."

"How did he get so good at this?" Peter asked in shock, looking around him once more in awe.

"Practice," Pepper shrugged. "He's always been good with tools."

"What about the suits, how did he come up with those?" Peter asked.

Pepper stopped, "I'll...let him tell you about that. It wasn't the best reason." Something catches his eye and Peter walks to the nearest table. Pepper meets him over there. An Iron Man hand lays there, palm up, it's center cracked. 

"Tony's been working on this for a bit now," she says, "trying to reconfigure something- I don't know- he can't seem to get it back to normal."

Peter picks it up and examines it before frowning, "Because the plating is off, the primary doesn't need to be configured and that's probably what he's been trying...I need a screwdriver."

Pepper, startled, asks slowly, "Which kind?"

"Philips," Peter moves the hand around in his grasp. Pepper gets him one and hands it to him gently.

"Thanks," he says. She watches as Peter wrenches off the plate and squints, popping off the wiring inside. He takes it in his fingers and examines it before he singles in one one and pulls it, detaching it from the base and letting it fall to the table. Grabbing a pair of tweezers left on the table, he detaches two more and loops them over one another before prying the small unneeded back piece off with the tip of the screwdriver. Then, pressing the panel back in, it clicks back into place and Peter nods, satisfied. 

He returns the hand to the table and rubs his hands on his sweatshirt. "That should work," he says simply. 

Pepper looks at him amazement before she motions him forward. "Well at least try it out."

"In here?" Peter knits his eyebrows. 

Pepper rolls her eyes, "Tony blows stuff up in here all the time. Go for it."

Peter grins and takes the hand carefully, sliding his own fingers into it and gasping as it fitted around his hand, "Woah!"

"Easy kid. Test it out," Pepper urged. 

Peter moved his fingers around, the light in the center of the palm flickering. He grinned and made a fist before turning and extending his fingers. "Just...in that direction?"

Pepper turned him just slightly, "Back wall."

"Ok," he said slowly, and then pulsed his fingers outward. The kickback was harder than he was expecting and Peter would have stumbled if he hadn't set his feet apart. A powerful blast heated up within the center of his palm and shot out within a millisecond, blowing up against the back wall and leaving a charred mark. 

"Pepper, you breaking my lab again with your partner in crime?" 

Peter whirled and saw Tony there, grinning, and he instantly lowered his arm, looking at him guiltily. "Sorry, I was just-"

"Don't say sorry Pete." He looks at him in confusion and asks, "Did you...fix it?"

"Yeah," Peter said weakly, lowering his voice to not appear like know it all, "you kept re-configuring the primary but you really needed to rewire the-"

"Secondary source," Tony finished his sentence and slapped his forehead. "Because of the energy circuit," he exclaimed, "I was bypassing the- wait how did you know that?"

"I'm good with tech," Peter shrugged. "HYDRA... made me help them make stuff, fix technology. It was just something to do, better than the alternative." He takes off the gauntlet and sets it back down on the table, rubbing it with his finger, "That was my school for half my life. And nine years of it makes you a bit of a pro."

Tony pointed to him, "I'll remember that."

"How did the meeting go?" Pepper asked hopefully. 

Tony sighed, "Ross is still a.....very not nice person," he finished quickly, clearly holding back a worse insult. "But I threatened him, so I think we're ok."

"Does he still want me to come in?" Peter asked weakly. 

"Yes," Tony said simply and Peter curled his fists. "But he's not getting to you. You've got the team wrapped around your finger kid. Not me of course." (Peter missed Pepper's smirk there.) Tony grinned, "We're not letting you go anywhere with him. I made sure he knew that."

"T-thanks," Peter said slowly. He narrowed his eyes and told Tony with his eyes, _I still don't trust you._

Tony raised an eyebrow back, _Touche. Not asking you to._

Peter kept his eyes narrowed until Pepper laughed, "I'm gonna break up this staring contest and go back to what I was doing. Always a pleasure blowing things up with you Peter."

Tony and Peter snapped out of their conversation and Tony clapped his hands suddenly, making Peter jump. "Sorry. The team is gonna hang out in the lounge and then get something to eat. They want to get to know you kid. You can come if you want."

"Cheeseburgers?" Peter said hopefully. 

"Kid after my own heart. I‘m in the mood for those too, let's go Pete," Tony said happily, leading him to the door. "Love you Pep."

"Love you too," she called back, watching Tony lead Peter out with a supportive hand on his back. She crossed her arms and watched them turn the corner with a knowing smile on her face. 

When they were around the corner, FRIDAY spoke, _"Might I point out that Tony called him Pete twice and he didn't correct him."_

"I caught that too," she grinned. 

An hour later, Peter was seated on the couch and all the Avengers had cheeseburger wrappers on the table. 

"Good choice Peter," Tony sighed in contentment, Pepper seated next to him. 

Peter smiled, curling his legs up to his chest, feeling a little more at ease with his new group of friends. No. Not at ease. Stop getting comfortable, he tells himself angrily.

"I really need to get that light fixed," Tony says suddenly. "It's half breaking. One hit and that will be a blast to clean up." Peter squints, following his gaze and looking at the rectangular light on the ceiling. 

"So Tony says you're quite the mechanic kid," Natasha says winking and Peter's gaze snaps back down to her with a start.

Peter blushes, "Yea...I know a few things."

"Kid showed me up," Tony shrugged. 

The football whizzed by Peter who's arm shot up to catch it with one hand by it's tip. The Avengers whistled. 

"Nice arm Peter," Clint remarked and Peter blushed. He threw it back in a perfect spiral and Clint caught it with a slight stumble. "Dang, almost as good as me." 

"Hey Clint, remember when you almost took off Tony's nose with a dart," Natasha laughed.

"Don't bring that up," Clint groaned. 

"I am not aware of this," Rhodey said, suddenly interested, quieting Tony. "Where was I?"

"It was at Clint's house," Steve smiled. "With his kids we didn't know about?"

"You have a house? And...a family?" Peter's shocked. 

"They're agents," Tony said firmly. "And little agents. Smaller agents."

"Yeah whatever Tony," Clint grinned.

Rhodey quieted everyone, "Get to the part where you almost took of Tony's nose."

"I was standing by the board and he just throws one, like he would a freaking arrow," Tony laughs.

"I made a bulls-eye. I don't miss," Clint protested.

The football makes his way around the room. "You could have hit his hand," Steve points at him.

Clint shakes his head, "No, he wasn't good at darts, so his hand was nowhere near the bulls-eye."

Steve laughed.

Sam tosses the ball to Tony who leans behind Pepper and Peter and chucks it to Clint as hard as he can. Clint stands to catch it, moving slightly to the right and suddenly the door opens as Bucky and Vision enter, hitting Clint in the back as he throws, making him trip.

Peter watches the football sail higher than expected, slamming into one of the rectangular lights- of course the one that's broken- in the center of the room, knocking the one side lose. Peter wastes no time in webbing the flying football to the wall and looks up. The light's now only attached on one end and the other end snaps off and swings down, heading for Nat and Rhodey who are across from him.

They both duck, moving sideways to avoid it-

But it never gets there.

Peter stands shoots a web and it sticks to the edge of the light mid swing, holding it back from slamming into them. He pulls it slowly back and as it breaks off of the remaining side due to the tension, he catches it with one hand, holding it up over the coffee table. Slowly he moves it over and sets it down on the ground.

Peter looks up. 

Everyone's staring at him. 

He stands there awkwardly, meeting the shocked gazes.

Steve, who had ducked to avoid the football that Peter had webbed to the wall, stands and pokes the stickiness that's trapping the football before looking at Peter in amazement. 

Nat and Rhodey sit upright. 

There's silence. 

"Wow. I was not expecting that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, if you don't, then just have an amazing day and happy Holidays <3 :)  
> Stay tuned for next chapter, which I have super awesome plans forrrrr :) muahahah and please leave comments and kudos they are greatly appreciated!!! I love to hear what you think of it! Also! Diving into Peter's flashbacks and his inner struggle next chapter as well, which I am also excited to tackle. Next chapter will be a long one and I am looking forward to writing it. Enough spoilers for me, thank you all for readinggggg <3  
> I love you all 3000


	5. Internal Struggles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I've been sometimes using those ____ bar things and then sometimes not?? Idk why so imma stop doing that XD ok hiiiiiii awesome people, hope you all are enjoying the holidays. I am NOT ready for 2020 as excited as I am for it ahhhh ok chapter! I worked hard to not write tony and peter how I usually do, but also writing them like I usually do...at the same time? if that makes sense? Also surprisingly, it took me a while to do the nightmare scene so I hope you like the result!  
>   
> Enjoy!!! (its kinda a long one i lost track of time while writing and could never find a could spot to end, like this beginning note. Read on!!)

"So...you...shoot webs?" Rhodey asked slowly, breaking the silence. 

Peter blushed, "Uh..yeah."

"That's actually kinda cool," Clint said, stretching his back out and glaring over his shoulder at Vision and Bucky who were very confused, stared blankly since they caught the last few seconds of the scene.

"You had to hit me in the back?" Clint complained.

"Why were you standing in front of the door?" Bucky grumbled.

Steve continued to poke the webbing and then finally just yanked the football, taking off some of the wall as well, which made a pretty loud noise. Heads swiveled to Steve who had plaster scattered around him and a guilty look on his face.

"Steve, really?" Pepper sighed, looking at the wall behind him.

Steve winced, holding the football, webbing, and an attached piece of plaster awkwardly, "Sorry- I- sorry." 

"And he can stick to the ceiling," Tony said proudly, steering the conversation back on track. He cranes his neck to look at Peter and asks, "How do you do that by the way, adhesive gloves or something?" 

"It's...it's a long story," Peter stutters, sitting back down on the couch and looking down.

"We've got time," Wanda smiled.

Peter cursed under his breath. He should have let it hit them. Why did he even stand up in the first place? He didn't know them. He didn't owe them- well, yes he did- well, no he didn't. He could have gotten out by himself.

But then Clint chimed in, "I for one, want to hear this."

"Kid, that was cool," Nat urged gently, tucking her legs under her and nodding.

"Saved Nat's beautiful face from getting squashed like in Looney Tunes," Sam pointed out. 

Natasha looked over and smiled, "Thanks Sam."

"Apparently I'm invisible," Rhodey sighed, glaring at Sam who snickered.

Silence again.

"Peter, you can tell us. We all have our origin stories, and not all of them are happy," Wanda said. "Mine was with HYDRA too."

"Me too," Bucky added. 

"It doesn't even have to be exciting," Tony pointed out. "Vision came out of a coffin and Steve's abilities came out of a bottle."

"Hey," Cap narrowed his eyes. 

"Vision picked up Thor's hammer two seconds later," Rhodey said. 

"It's rigged," Clint muttered.

"Go on kid," Tony nodded. "It's not like we're gonna tell anyone."

Peter knew they would either keep pressing or figure it out eventually. He also knew bad things happened when he didn't comply.

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, "Well it was about a month after I was taken. They had been running tests on me for a while at that point but this time when we went into that room...it was different." He took a deep breath at that, furiously regaining composure and sitting straighter.

"They had been working on altering an individual's DNA by physically implanting genetics from something they created. Basically giving whoever it was tested on powers, and I was the lucky lab rat. There was a spider, a radioactive spider. And...at first I didn't think it would work, you know? I thought worst case I would die from the poison like everyone else had," he shrugged.

"They had been doing tests on other people?" Steve asked.

Peter nodded, "Lots. That place was full of prisoners 8 years ago. Every cell was packed."

"We knew about that," Tony said softly. "That's what led us to HYDRA in the first place. Pile of dead bodies with traces of genetic enhancement. But the trail went cold."

Peter shrugged, "They stopped after me. Turns out I was the only one who it worked on. They made it bite me." He pulled up the sweatshirt sleeve and sure enough, when Tony squinted, there were two small dots on his arm.

"It died right after," Peter said before he frowned, "And then after that, everything changed. It obviously worked because I got these abilities. I have a 6th sense now, everything is louder, more focused, like all the dials are turned to 11. I can shoot webs, I'm stronger, like really, really strong, I stick to walls, I fight better, fight longer."

"They kept you alive," Bucky nodded. 

Peter raised his gaze and then nodded, "They trained me for nine years and in that time, I've gotten really good at using them. I was the first successful trial, the first person who didn't die. After the brainwashing failed, they gave up trying to force me to become a super solider."

"Brainwashing...failed?" Bucky asked in shock.

"Every time they tried..." Peter shook his head. "I don't know, I just- I couldn't do it, not for them. I came out of it every time, even passed out resisting the machine once. I couldn't kill for them, I wouldn't. They didn't have anyone to blackmail me with because it wasn't like I remembered anyone, which I guess kinda backfired on them." Peter tried to laugh and couldn't muster one. So he shrugged again, "And I was used to pain so they couldn't get to me that way. But knowing they couldn't kill me only pissed them off more."

"You were the only successful trial. Did they ever figure out why?" Steve crossed his arms.

Peter shook his head, "No. I was the only one it synced with. The process has killed people in the past- those people you found. But for some reason it worked for me. Like I was for some reason the perfect host. That's why they shut the operation down I guess. It was too hard to identify a match without leaving tracks, and HYDRA knew they were getting worse at covering them. Mostly because of you guys. And now...yeah. I'm here and I shoot webs and can...stick to walls." He rubbed his hands between his lap- a nervous jitter.

There was silence and Peter jumped on it too quickly, stuttering, "I shouldn't have said anything-" Inside he was screaming at himself. You don't even know these people- you feel like you do- but they don't know you, don't let them know you- don't let anyone-

"We all understand Peter," Wanda assured him.

"Each one of us has gone through something to become who we are today," Nat said, "and it's no fairytale."

"As Shakespeare once said: life sucks," Tony added helpfully, making Peter smirk.

"You just told us your superhero origin stories," Clint grinned.

"I'm not a superhero," Peter scoffed. That was hilarious. 

Tony grinned and shrugged, "You could be."

"In my dreams," Peter snorted. 

After a lot of playful banter, a board game and another toss of football, the Avengers retire for the night. It was 11 o'clock- later than Peter had thought. Tony kisses Pepper, muttering something of how he would be there in a few minutes before he motions Peter to follow him out of the room. 

The Avengers all say goodbye to him, telling him to get sleep, waving off every single thank you he threw at them, as if he was already one of them, and not some random kid they had found in a HYDRA base. 

"You're in the guest room in the Avengers hallway, at the very end," Tony said as they turned the corner. The Avengers had gone to the gear room downstairs to put everything away so the hallway was quiet. Tony flicked on the lights as he slowed to a stop next to a door at the end.

"It's not far from my room," he pointed to the right before stretching to look at the other doors, "and I think you're next to Viz and across from Nat. Vision's not to keen on walls, or doors, so if he comes through the side just to say hi, don't be freaked out. And feel free to shoot him with your webby thingies, they should go through him anyway and it will be funny," Tony shrugged, patting Peter's door. 

Peter stared at it for a second, unmoving, his hand itching to grasp and turn the handle.

"It opens you know. Called a doorknob-" Tony says, starting to smile.

"Shut up," he mutters, before looking over his shoulder. "I just- I've never had my own room before. I mean, that I remember." There was an odd feeling in Peter's chest and he shoved it away. What the heck is wrong with you Peter? Get it together.

Tony grinned at Peter, "You ok kid?"

He didn't want to open the door with Tony here. There would be a bed wouldn't there? Wow...he hadn't slept in one of those in...he didn't know how long. He suddenly jolts back, realizing he was asked a question and if he didn't comply- Peter sucked in a breath, turned around again, and faked a smile.

"Sorry, yeah. Just weird day. Not bad weird, good weird. I just- haven't told anyone that much about me in so little time. I mean, I barely know you guys."

"I still don't know your favorite color, if that makes you feel better," Tony pointed out.

Peter rolled his eyes and then looked at Tony, "Thanks...for doing this, by the way."

Tony leaned against the wall and raised a curious eyebrow, "We didn't overwhelm you too much?"

"Still in shock," Peter admitted, scratching his head before crossing his arms to close himself off. "I don't know how to act or how to think really."

"Well you're doing great kid," Tony said with a smile. "Also, I wasn't kidding about becoming a superhero. If you ever decide to make it your full time job let me know. We could come up with a cool name for you."

"I'm sixteen," Peter pointed out. 

"Never too young," Tony winked. "Spiderling. Crime-fighting Spider? Spiderboy?"

"Spiderman," Peter said without even thinking. 

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Now that's got a nice ring to it."

"Forget it," Peter laughed, shaking his head. "Not happening."

Tony put up his hands in surrender, "Ok, ok, but you know who to call. Ghostbusters- you don't get that, do you?" He recognized Peter's confusion on his face and nodded, "We're watching that tomorrow."

"Don't you have work?" Peter knit his eyebrows. 

Tony scratched his head, "We've got the shipment arriving late tomorrow night. The world isn't ending as far as I know, so I've got a bit of lab work to do, but this weird kid showed up so he's gonna be my main priority for a little while." He winked, "We gotta figure _you_ out tomorrow kid. Your full name, where you're from, all that jazz."

Peter widened his eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah, we at least gotta get last name," Tony shrugged. "Then I'll call you by your last name all the time, and you'll get annoyed," he waved his hand, "it will be lots of fun."

Peter smiled slightly, "Sounds good."

"I'll let you get sleep," Tony drummed on the wall and pointed to the door Peter still hadn't opened, "You've got a full bathroom in there, I had clean clothes delivered a couple hours ago, food, water, pretty much the necessities of life. You need anything tell FRIDAY, or tell FRIDAY to tell me, and so on. Got it?"

"Yeah," Peter said weakly. 

Tony nodded and clapped Peter on the shoulder, "Ok, good talk. Night kid."

"Night Mr. Stark," Peter said. 

"Tony," he corrected, walking away, "Don't make me feel old."

"Tony," Peter repeated and then when Tony had disappeared behind the corner, Peter faced his door. He took a deep breath and clutched the knob, turning it slowly. Sucking in a breath he entered the dark room, before looking to the side of the wall for the light.

His eyes adjusted and he quickly found it and flipped the switch. The room lit up and Peter froze, letting his hand fall to his side. There was a bed with clean sheets, a desk, a window in the center of the room, an open closet that had clothes- sweatshirts and sweatpants, t-shirts and jeans. 

He closed the door gently behind him and took a deep breath, just staring at all of the things he could call his, even if it was only for a time being. With tears in his eyes and a smile on his face he put a hand on his desk, running it across the smooth wood. He grinned and toggled with the lamp switch watching the light come on and off. He spun and walked over to sit on the bed, threading his fingers the soft blanket in awe.

He opened the other door to reveal a very nice bathroom, white walls and another mirror, that Peter wouldn't break. And a shower...wow. With warm water. He grinned and shut the door. Then Peter's eyes fell on what looked like a small fridge and he smiled again, crossing the room and going over to it. He crouches by the side, curling his hand around the cold handle, opening it. He grabbed a water bottle and yanked it out a little too gleefully. Peter accidentally knocked over the remaining two and he caught one with his other hand. 

The remaining one clattered loudly down the racks before rolling to the carpeted floor. Peter flinched at the loud sound, his grip on his bottle failing. He blinked. 

_BANG_

_Peter opened his eyes groggily, metal cuffs, durable ones that he couldn't snap like the previous ones bit into his wrists. He was dragged forward and thrown to the ground, his knees scraping against the stone, probably bleeding, or reopening old cuts._

_Hersh's boots appeared in front of him as Peter stared at the floor. "Look at me Peter."_

_When he didn't raise his head it was forcefully raised with a grip to his hair and he got a punch to his mouth that sent him sprawling to the side, his head smacking against the ground, coughing up blood._

_"I said look at me!"  
_

_Peter raised a defiant gaze and looked up at Hersh who's eyes flashed._

_"Release him."_

_Peter groaned as he felt a rough grasp on his arms, yanking him up at an awful angle. The cuffs unlock and he was dropped the rest of the way to the ground, his palms going flat on the floor to stop his fall. He took a deep breath. Peter blinked._

_"Get up."  
_

_This time, Peter stood with effort, straightening. Hersh nodded in approval and then turned. The door was opened in the back and someone was dragged in, thrashing, their voice muffled due to a sack over their head. They were kicked to their knees and hit across the head._

_Peter flinched._

_Hersh calmly took out a gun and Peter's eyes watched the barrel. It went under his chin, pressing hard into his throat and Peter resisted the painful urge to swallow. He felt the cold barrel brush against his jaw as Hersh found the placement under Peter's bone to make it hurt._

_"Are you afraid?" Hersh hissed._

_"Yes," Peter lied smoothly, resisting a wince._

_Hersh's expression crumpled and he looked down, shaking his head, before whipping the gun to hit Peter across the jaw with it. Peter had seen it coming. He saw everything coming. But he knew not to fight back, not to resist it. Just take it._

_"No you're not. What did I say about lying to me, Peter?" Hersh said, lifting Peter's chin with the gun._

_Peter narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything. There was a sharp burning feeling in his chest. He knew he could disarm Hersh and probably kill him, both in less than 3 seconds. But would he? No. Because the consequences for that were...he didn't want to know. And Hersh knew just as much as Peter hated to admit, he was one of the only ones here that could truly hurt Peter, or make him flinch at least._

_Taking shaky deep breaths he stared straight ahead, wondering if Hersh was going to pull the trigger. He almost dared him to. But Peter didn't move. His hands stayed clenched at his sides, his eyes stayed fixed on the back wall, unblinking and emotionless._

_But H_ _ersh never pulled the trigger._

 _Instead he pulled the gun away and grabbed Peter's wrist, making him flinch. He formed Peter's hand around the gun, and Peter felt his fingers instinctively curl around their rightful spots._ _Hersh raised Peter's arm, forcing him to aim at the man before he stepped away from him._

_"Shoot him," he demanded._

_Peter's head flicked to the side in shock. Panic rose steadily in his chest and he took his finger off the trigger, starting to lower his arm, "Repeat-"_

_"You heard me," Hersh snarled angrily, punching Peter in the side and yanking his arm level again. He took the hit with a wince, despite a rib probably cracking, and barely moved his stance. His grip on the gun tightened as Hersh hissed in his ear, "Shoot. Him."_

_Peter's throat was dry and he licked his lips, "Who is the individu-"_

_"Doesn't matter," Hersh cut him off._

_His arm started to shake. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His knees threatened to give out on him. Peter took a breath before speaking softly, "I won't-"_

_Hersh furiously spoke through gritted teeth, "Failure to comply will result in-"_

_"I know what it entails," Peter grit his teeth, lowering his arm. "I won't-" He turned to get a fist in the face._

_Peter fell, hitting the ground with a muffled groan. Hersh crouches by his side, "I hear you have quite the mouth Peter. Get in here, and it goes away. Why?"_

_Peter didn't answer. He put his fists against the floor and got to his hands and knees but Hersh kicked him down._

_"You think you're tough, yea? You'll learn," he shook his head. Hersh stood and stepped backward as two guards surged forward and grabbed Peter, cuffing him and yanking him to his feet. They dragged him past Hersh who made sure Peter was watching as he leveled the gun at the unknown man._

_Peter's eyes went wide with panic. Hersh pulled the trigger._

_BANG_

_"NO!" Peter screamed._

_The person at the back of the room slumped to the floor._

_"No-" Peter thrashed again, being dragged out of the room._

_"Cell 7."_

Peter gasped, scrambling backward until he hit the back of the bed, breathing hard. The sharp pain in his back when he hit the wood jolted him fully out of his flashback. Peter took a deep breath and stood, pressing his hands against his head for a second to let the ringing stop. He focused on the floor, letting his vision return to normal. 

He was used to those. You handle those, he told himself. Peter quickly shook his head and snapped himself out of it, forcing his shaking hand to still in mild annoyance as he walked back over to pick up the water bottle he had dropped. 

He shut the fridge and straightened, taking a deep breath. This was going to be a long night.

**1:59 am**

Peter stared at the ceiling. He had taken a shower- a hot shower, and had attacked the first aid kit, patching up some of his remaining wounds to help his healing factor. He had eaten some more; he was always hungry, and had worked out which is what he did whenever he was alone in his cell back at the base. Push ups, sit ups, pull ups. At 12 he decided to try and sleep, which was a long shot. A very, very, long shot.

He never slept usually...never felt safe enough, comfortable enough. The only time he ever did was when he was too exhausted to stay awake, mostly after the sessions where he was at the point where he didn't have enough energy to keep his eyes open or lift his head, or when they physically knocked him out. He remembered the many nights he woke up on the floor, covered in dry blood and scars from wounds that already closed. The pain was still there, but it didn't show. 

There was a slight problem. Peter's eyes were slowly closing. Stop getting comfortable here, he yelled in his head to himself. Stop getting....comfortable.....

_"Hey Isaak, come to have some more fun-" Peter greeted the man that led the other guards into his cell. He spit out blood a second later, rubbing his jaw that was stinging from the hard punch the man threw._

_Yanked to his feet by his collar, Peter suffered another couple of hits, just a warm up before he's cuffed and dragged out of his cell and down the hall. Peter knows where he's going. Every day. He feels the hand on his shirt tighten as he's practically tossed into the seat._

_"Yet again, we ruin the pretty boy," Issak smirks, mockingly brushing Peter's cheek._

_He coughed and then slurred, forming what he could of a smile as his hands are cuffed to the sides of the chair, "You know this is all gonna be gone by morning-"_

_Another hit, but his head isn't allowed to snap to the side because suddenly a hand is grabbing his chin, "Makes it more fun."_

_"Oh well as long as you're having fun-"_

_The door slams open and Dr. Benedikt walks in. He sees the man's eyes look over Peter's injuries: bloody nose, forming black eye that was already swelling, split lip, busted cheekbone. The normal drill._

_"What's up doc?" Peter grins sluggishly as Issak lets go of his chin._

_"You don't even know where that's from," the man responds snootily._

_"Yeah, but it pisses you off so it's ok-" Peter's shut up by another punch that sends his head whipping to the side._

_"I am surprised that your humor has lasted this long, or survived in this place. But we still own you."_

_He grabs Peter's collar, "You still belong to us. You know that Peter."_

_"I know," Peter finds himself saying against his will._

_"The tough guy act breaks every once in a while Peter," he smiles at him. "I know you better than you know yourself. Unable to talk to anyone? Constant pain? Hatred, anger, fury, all the time. And you can't do anything about it?"_

_"Shut up," Peter hisses._

_"Pain is an old friend to you now. We did that. We've changed you. We've broken you in so many ways you don't even feel it anymore. So next time, you plan to insult me with some stupid joke," he flicks a needle and grins. Peter flinches. "Remember that."_

_Peter's lip curled but before he can say any retort, a needle is shoved into his arm. Peter arches his back in the seat, his hands curling into fists, reopening the cuts on his palms from his nails. His teeth grit together and he's trembling in the chair, squeezing his eyes shut._

_Peter forces his eyes open and with a breaking and strained voice, chokes out, "Make it stop!"_

_"You told us once that you wouldn't beg," the doctor mocks._

_"Screw you," Peter sobs, tears streaming down his face as more pain ripples through his veins, making him strain against the cuffs._

_Dr. Benedikt smiles and flicks a switch, taking out his clipboard._

_Peter screams._

_He's in the training room. He spins, webbing the far target. He flips, avoiding a bullet before he shoots another web and flings himself onto the wall. It breaks off and Peter falls, landing harshly._

_He sucks in his breath and gets to his feet, scrambling away as the wall behind him is blown up. A piece of the wall hits him in the back as he lunges, slamming him into the wall. Getting to his feet, Peter barely has time to take a breath before three men approach him with guns._

_Peter narrows his eyes and spins in the air, firing a gun and ripping his arm to the side, knocking out the man on the left. The remaining one fires and Peter avoids the bullet, punching him in the face and flipping him over his shoulder, picking up his gun and firing without thinking. He catches a man in the shoulder that's fifty feet away and Peter drops the gun in shock._

_He wasn't supposed to do that. He wasn't supposed to-_

_His senses tingle and Peter instinctively flips, landing behind the man. He catches the first punch but misses the second. A shock stick hits him in the side and Peter clenches his teeth as electricity runs through him. He kicks the man away and drops to the floor, crossing his arms and webbing the back wall, sliding forward to avoid a blow. He jumped to his feet and fires another web, shooting the ceiling and spiraling forward._

_He lands and ducks a punch but suddenly there's a shot and Peter can't move-_

_The bullet sinks into his arm and Peter falters, getting a punch to the face because of his sluggishness. He spins and shoots a web but it misses. The butt of a gun hits him across the face and he falls flat, slamming into the ground. He struggles to gets to his feet and gets kicked down, a gun digging into the small of his back._

_Peter exhales, scrunching up his nose and taking a layered breath, squeezing his eyes shut._

_The men back away and Peter slowly gets to his feet, grabbing his shoulder, blood spilling down his fingers. He stands straight._ _Hersh comes forward, standing in front of Peter who doesn't meet his eyes._

_"You failed again," he says simply.  
_

_Peter makes out a choked, "I'm sorry."_

_"You were made to be perfect," Hersh says, stepping closer to Peter until they are face to face. He hisses, "The serum is perfect. It's you who is useless."_

_Peter grits his teeth, curling his fist that's at his side._

_"Say it."  
_

_"Sir-" Peter inquires._

_"Say you're useless," Hersh snaps, making Peter flinch.  
_

_Then he presses his lips together and takes a shuddering breath._ _Hersh smacks his hand away from his arm and punches him in his bullet wound. Peter screams in pain, his hand clenching on his injury. Hersh presses down on his bad shoulder, forcing Peter to his knees._

_"I'm useless," Peter gasps out._

_"We cannot afford to have you keep failing this round," Hersh says, standing straight._

_Peter stares straight ahead, feeling blood flowing down his arm and dripping off his fingertips._

_"I know."_

_Suddenly he's on the track. His legs burning, his chest feeling like it's about to cave in on himself. He's staggering now, his vision going white, his head about to explode._

_"I can't-" he gasps out, in desperate need of water._

_"What mile is he at?"_

_"890 sir."_

_"How long?"_

_"4 days."_

_"Levels?"_

_"Lactic thresholds and glycogen replenishment are normal. Exhaustion is the flaw."_

_Peter can't do it. He can't. He lets himself stumble and then suddenly there's a sharp, white hot pain in his back. He screams and stays standing, continuing to walk, his legs wobbling. His feet are burning. There's a hole in his shoes. His lips are chapped and his mouth is dry. Peter feels like he's on fire._

_It hurts to sob, "I can't-"_

_"Do not stop."_

_"I can't-" he pleads, tears streaming down his face, his breathing rapid. He gasps, sweat dripping down his face. He steps on his ankle wrong, feeling it snap and his body crumples. His mouth opens in a silent scream. He feels a muscle pull and Peter falls to his hands and knees, coughing and gasping, his shaking palms hitting the floor._

_His back spazzes again, the device shocking him and Peter screams, staggering to get to his feet. He's limping now, blinking to keep the sweat out of his eyes, but it's not like that helps him see better; his vision is already tunneling. His leg is dying on him and Peter's shaking, his body giving up on him._

_"I can't do it-" he screams. "You hear me? You sick bast-" He falls limp, his chest hitting the floor hard, scraping up his hands and knees, his head smacking against the ground. He closes his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks._

_"Get up!"_

_He can't._

_"GET UP!"_

_HE CAN'T._

_Peter's trembling, his muscles relaxing- tensing with every shock. He lays there, the yelling overwhelming him, echoing in his ears, making them ring._

_Flinch after flinch. He doesn't move. He feels his mind slip, his eyes stay closed, his body sink into the ground._

_Peter falls asleep and soon goes unconscious, his body spazzing with every extra shock he's given._

Peter gaps and jolts up, covered in sweat. He wakes up on the floor and spins, kicking sheets that are twisted around his legs. He gasps, gripping the floor, remembering where he is. Taking a breath he pulls his legs to his chest and presses his hands against his temples, trying to steady his breathing. 

"Come on Peter, stop it," he tells himself out loud, hating how his voice shook. 

Maybe he could take a walk. His throat was dry but Peter frowned, remembering he drank all of the water in his fridge. He thinks he remembers where the kitchen is. He stands and flinches, limping as his ankle gives out. 

"It's not real," he closes his eyes and walks again. The pain is gone as his fingers clench over the door knob. Peter peeks his head out and then walks down the hallway. He remembers where to turn obviously because he's suddenly in the kitchen. Peter looks around the room and checks the first cabinet for cups. When he doesn't find any he checks the second. There. Top shelf. 

Peter reaches and realizes he can't grab it, even on his toes. He aims and shoots a web, snatching a glass. He catches it as it falls and applauds himself before turning around just as the kitchen light turns on. 

Peter drops the glass in shock and fires due to habit, his heart beating out of his chest. 

Tony slowly peaks up over the table, looking backward at the web stuck to the wall behind him. Then he winks, "This time I ducked."

Peter's staring at the glass that has shattered on the floor. He stutters, panic rising in his chest, "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to- I'm sorry-" Look what you did, he curses himself. You always break things. You're useless-

"Woah, kid, hey," Tony knits his eyebrows and steps forward, his hands out. Peter flinches at that, backing up till he hits the cabinets. "I'm not gonna hurt you kid," he laughs, clearly joking, but it's twistedly relieving to Peter due to the fact that back in the base he would have been-

"We've all broken stuff before. Look, it's no problem. Just don't move, ok?" Tony directs, surveying the damage. "I don't want you getting cut."

Peter's brow furrows at that. He...doesn't want him to get hurt? He shakes his head, "I'll- I'll clean it up-"

Tony waves his hand, reassuring Peter with a comforting gaze, "No, no. Kid, it's ok. I got it." He grabs a cloth and bends down, moving all the glass away from Peter's feet. Then he straightens and walks to the cabinet, grabbing Peter a new cup for him to fill, this one plastic. 

"Go get water, I'll take care of this," he moves his head.

Peter walks slowly and gets a drink, standing awkwardly by the bar stools as Tony stands when he's done, wiping his hands before leaning on the counter. The man looks at him curiously, "You ok?"

Peter doesn't really want to answer that so he takes a sip and asks, "Why aren't you asleep?"

Tony gives him a sideways grin, knowing Peter avoided the question. "Same as you."

Peter scoffs.

"You don't believe me?" Tony asks before waving his hand, "come on, I want to show you something."

Usually Tony didn't let anyone on the roof. He went up here whenever he had nightmares or panic attacks. It was where he could be alone, and recenter himself, remind himself of why he got up every morning. He knew that's what the kid was going through, so hopefully it would provide the same comfort as it did Tony. He pushes open the door and lets the kid step out. He follows him, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

"It's beautiful," Peter remarks, staring out over the building at the compound that's lit up. 

"Yea," Tony agrees, "it is." He sits down against the main generator, cold wind swirling by, making the trees shake. It's three in the morning, a sunrise coming in a couple hours. The lake shimmers and the stars are still visible. It's a very beautiful night.

Peter awkwardly sits down somewhat close to him, staring straight ahead. They sit in silence for a bit, and Tony takes comfort in the fact that the kid's shoulders are slowly relaxing. Then Peter surprises him by breaking the silence. 

"You really think you'll be able to find anything on my old life?"

Tony turns to look at the kid, "I'm gonna do my best."

Peter looks down, "My parents are probably dead. HYDRA wouldn't leave them alive."

"Kid, don't think like that," Tony demands. "We're gonna find something. Whatever it is, whatever is left, we will find it and we will hold onto it and we will build from that. Until we can't build anymore."

"Mr. Stark it's just my life. I'm never getting a normal one. I appreciate all you've done, really, but at some point you're gonna have to realize you have to give up on me."

Tony swiveled to look at the kid who was dead serious. "What the heck are you talking about Peter? I just met you not even 24 hours ago and you're expecting me to already give up on you? Think again kid."

"I don't deserve a normal life. I've done some bad things," Peter said quietly. "I've hurt people."

"So have I," Tony countered. 

"It's just not gonna work out. I accepted that a while ago," Peter shook his head. "There's just no scenario where this all-"

Tony reaches out and puts a hand on Peter's shoulder, "Kid, you have to try and be hopeful about this-"

"Hopeful?" Peter said furiously, smacking Tony's hand away. "Hopeful?" He asked again, with so much anger that Tony actually flinched. Woah. Where did this come from? The kid must have had a worse night than he thought. Peter turned to face him and there was literal fire in his eyes as he hissed, "I _can't_."

"You don't get it," Peter shook his head, his voice breaking, "When you've been _used_ by them as long as I have, tortured by them, warped by them... you _lose_ hope _._ "

Peter's lip curled, "You lose _everything_. Every ounce, every spark, every wish that you ever had, you become nothing- I became _nothing_. Anything remotely close to _hope_ died year one. I accepted that I was utterly screwed, that no one was coming, that they could do whatever they wanted to me and get away with it- and they _did_. By year two, I wasn't even human anymore. They strip you of everything you have, ruin you beyond repair. Something that made me scream when I first got there became a paper cut, a Tuesday. They give you a new definition of pain, hurt you in ways I didn't even know someone could be hurt and by then..."

Peter's hands were shaking and his voice was dangerously calm and cold, "By then you just accept it. They destroy you. They tore me apart and put me back together more times than I can even count so don't you _dare_ ," he warned, "tell me to have _hope_."

"Then don't have hope, whatever," Tony says quietly and Peter is slightly shocked by his harshness until Tony finishes his sentence, "but at least give me a chance."

Peter stops and takes a breath, calming himself down. 

Tony, who was still surprised over Peter's outburst, spoke calmly, "You are not what HYDRA told you you are Peter and you most definitely are not what they made you. You are one of the strongest teenagers I have ever met. And I will do everything to help you get back to what you deserve. I wish I could change the past but I can't. So let me help you start over."

Peter was shaking and when he turned to look at him he saw tears in the kid's eyes. Peter tried to say something and then bit his lip, looking down and shaking his head, not in defiance, but in sadness.

"You don't trust me," Tony said knowingly. 

"I want to," Peter admitted, turning to wipe his eye with his fist so Tony couldn't see. He returned with a solemn gaze. "Just last time I trusted someone...they back stabbed me. You know when the one person you'd take a bullet for turns out to be the one pulling the trigger?"

"I'm pretty sure that's on a messed up kitty poster somewhere," Tony joked before clearing his throat and nodding. "Yeah kid, I know the feeling. I've been there."

"You have?" Peter asked. 

Tony nodded, "One of my mentors, one of my friends. Turned me over to terrorists. I was held captive for months, because of him. Because he wanted my company. Left me for dead and tried to steal my suit when I got back."

"Wow," Peter said quietly. Then he raised an eyebrow, "You were kidnapped?" After Tony nodded he asked, "Is that what you were going to tell me when you trusted me?"

"You don't know the specifics, but yeah," Tony said slowly, giving him a small smile, "We're getting there."

Peter shook his head and sighed, squeezing his eyes shut and scrunching up his nose. He pulled his legs closer to his chest, "I'm gonna regret telling you this." He sighed.

"There was another kid in the base at one point. We went through a lot of the same trials, kept each other going, kept each other human. We fought back together, helped each other when we were hurt. We trusted each other because we were the only ones we could trust. I met him about a month after I got there. They had kidnapped him too."

Peter bit his lip and laughed as if reminiscing on an old memory, "He was with me when we tried to get out, remember that escape attempt I told you about?"

Tony nodded slowly. 

"I would have gotten out," Peter said quietly, "we both would have. We had guns, we made it past the guards. We were so close..." Peter looked down, his hand suddenly fisting a spot on his shirt right below his rib cage. "He was afraid only one of us would get out, so he...he shot me, in the chest. One of few scars that didn't heal."

Peter releases his grip and lets his shaking hand rest on his knee. He stares straight ahead, his tone stiff, "They tackled me right on that last step. I didn't make it. He sprints around the corner, I hear a shot. He falls and I can see him through the doorway, bullet to the head." 

Tony pales. 

Peter's frozen, unphased. "I trusted him. That was my one shot. My one chance. And then I never trusted anyone again."

"Trust is a hard thing to get back. When it gets violated, it knocks you down, scares you from doing it again. I understand that," Tony said softly. 

"Yeah," Peter said, curling his fists. 

"But the worse thing is never trusting anyone again," Tony says slowly, locking eyes with Peter. "It will tear you apart," he says. "And that will hurt worse, I promise you." Peter stares him in the eyes and nods, giving him a small smile. 

"It's just hard. I still feel like..." Peter shakes his head, making a face, "like I'm there."

"Peter, we got you out. You got away," he assures him.

"How do you get away from what's inside your head?" Peter said quietly.

Tony sighs, "I- I don't have an answer for that kid."

Peter nods and stares straight ahead. Tony does the same. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was thattttttt??? Longer I know. Sorry not sorry. Next one is gonna be more action packed.........no spoilers as to why, but it was foreshadowed so I'll give you that hint. :)  
> I hope you enjoyed! Because I loveddd writing that one. Anyway yeaaaaa. Please leave comments and kudos and thank you so so so much for reading and for all of your support <3 it means a lot and I am very thankful for all of you  
> Love you guys 3000 <3 and stay tuned!!!!  
> (I love how in notes grammar and punctuation goes out the window for me I am so sorry XD)


	6. A House Divided Cannot Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings! A split second of needles in this one. Just a blood sample, nothing too yucky but I know some people who don't like that sort of thing so just FYI <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPPYYYYY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!! Wowwwww, 2020!!!! It's been a year of writing fanfiction for me omg my first one was in the beginning of 2019. wow it's been such a ride so thank you all so so so much because you guys are what makes it such a blast <3 <3 <3 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, I had a lot of fun with it. Tony and Peter working together has always been a fav for me, and it was clear from the moment they met in the movies they both got the science talk and could communicate well so I tried to parallel that. Also I just watched the first Iron Man a second ago so I was inspired. So I hope I pulled that off.  
> And I hope you like cliffhangers!!! The kicker comes at the end :)  
> Thank you sll so much for all your support with this story, it has been amazing. You all are the best. Ok I don't want to spoil anything so enjoy! Read on <3

Peter had gotten back to bed around 4:30. He and Tony had stayed on the roof top for a little over an hour, just sitting in silence- well he wouldn't say silence. Because silence was a conversation in and of itself. The decision to return inside was mutual- a simple look followed by both of them getting up at the same time and crossing back over to the door.

They had walked back down the steps and down the hallway back to their rooms in silence as well. Tony put a hand on Peter's shoulder and nodded as he stopped by his door. Peter gave him a small smile and then Tony rounded the corner to try and get some sleep. That was the deal; Peter had made him promise. 

Peter surprised himself by waking up at 8 o'clock. That was the most sleep he had gotten in nine years. He woke up on the floor, not because he had fallen off, but because the bed was not something he was used to. The floor was more comfortable. He had yanked a pillow and blanket down with him and so for the first time in a long time, he woke up warm and not sore. 

He ruffled his hair and got to his feet, standing and yawning. Wow. It wasn't a dream. Still in shock. Peter wondered if it would ever kick in as he rubbed his eyes. Still groggy, but on high alert from many rude awakenings, he crossed the room and opened the door. Peaking through, to make sure the hallway was clear, he slipped through, closing the door softly behind him until he heard the small click.

Suddenly Nat's door opened and he whirled.

"You gonna shoot me?" she joked.

Peter blushed, looking down, "No."

"Good to know," she smiled, closing her door. "Morning Peter."

"Hi," he said simply.

"Sleep well?" she asked, motioning him to follow her down the hallway.

"Yeah," Peter nodded truthfully, jogging to catch up to her. "I actually did."

"Good kid," she smiles and then raises an eyebrow. "Just remember, insomnia, forms of PTSD- you're at the one place where almost everyone here gets that, would understand you. Meaning you don't keep anything in, you got that? We work as a team, we help each other."

"I'm not part of the team though," Peter knits his eyebrows.

Nat shrugs him off with a smirk, "Kid all I'm saying is don't think you can't tell any one of us what you're going through. The least we can do is help you out."

Peter nods, "T-thanks."

Nat grins, "Now, you hungry?"

"Always," he found himself saying. "My- my metabolism is enhanced as well so in order to maintain my-"

"You need to eat a lot," she finished for him. 

"Yeah," Peter blushed again, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

Nat grinned, "No shame. You'll be well fed today. It's pancake day."

"Pancake...day..." Peter fought a laugh, shaking his head with a smile. 

Nat raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Nothing," he smiled, "I just..." he turned to look at her, "you're the _Avengers_."

Nat smiled knowingly and nodded, raising an eyebrow, "So why do we play football and board games and have pancake days?"

"Yeah." Peter admitted with a small laugh. 

"Well for one, I live with mostly all boys," she said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. "Pepper, Wanda and I have to deal with a lot, that's all them." Then she smiled.

"But it's mainly because...." Nat pondered that for a second before looking over at him with a small smile, "because when you have this job, you need that kinda stuff. We've all seen stuff, been through things, just like you have," she nodded to him, "that make it hard to get up in the morning. And every day is another day where we might have to go through some of that same crap."

She gave him an encouraging smile, "So you gotta live life. Have fun. Live every day to the fullest." She motioned toward the kitchen which was just down the steps. Peter could already hear the commotion. "We're like a family. So when we're not out saving the world, we're making the best of it."

"I guess I just...never had that," Peter admits. "I don't know what to do with it."

"Improvise," Nat grins, skipping every second step. "Don't plan out every moment kid. That's the one thing Tony does well-"

"What you saying about me Romanoff?" Tony calls as they get down the steps. 

"Telling Peter how incredibly idiosyncratic you are," Nat calls, winking at Peter as he comes down the last step with a small smile on his face. 

"Looking cheerful kid," Clint greets him. 

"Hey Pete," Tony greets him, flipping a pancake. "Slept through the night?" he asks, giving Peter a wink.

"Like a baby," Peter says back with a small grin. "Can I do...anything? Make something?" He turn in a circle, feeling like he should be doing something. He hates not doing something. He always got punished for not doing anything. 

"No kid, it's all taken care of, just grab a seat," Tony points to the table. Peter looks across the room at the table and gulps. He doesn't know where to sit. He'll just guess then? 

"Here, sit next to Tony," Rhodey instructs, moving a paper aside from a seat. Peter gives him a quick nod. 

"Thanks."

"That's my seat-" Clint sighs. 

"Well now you're sitting over here you big baby," Rhodey says, "deal with it."

"I-I can move," Peter stutters, gripping the sides of the chair and trying to get out. 

"I'm kidding," Clint assures him, winking. 

Peter smiles back, relieved, his fists uncurling. It takes a few minutes for everyone to get to the table, and Tony hands Peter a glass of something...brown? Yellow? Orange? Darkish brownish-

Tony raises an eyebrow, "It's apple juice."

Peter looks at him, his gaze bouncing back and forth and he slowly picks up the glass and sips it. Oh my gosh....that's really good, he thinks happily. Then he proceeds to drink the whole glass in one giant gulp or two. He sets it down and everyone is staring at him.

"At least he didn't do the whole Thor smash," Rhodey points out. 

"I'll put the bottle out here," Tony grins, getting up from his seat. 

Pancakes turned out to be one of the best thing- no, quite possibly, the best thing that Peter has ever tasted, aside from cheeseburgers, and the team actually had to make more because Peter's huge appetite inspired them to have an eating contest. After all the batches in the kitchen were made and eaten, the team was full and they started cleaning up the table. 

For once...there was a genuine smile on Peter's face. 

Until a water pitcher was knocked over as everyone was cleaning up. 

Peter flinched at the loud crash and flood of water, the cold liquid hitting his hand. He froze, clutching the table with his eyes squeezed shut. 

_"Again."_

_Peter gasped for air, the grip on his wet curls tugging at his scalp. He grabbed the sides of the tub as he was shoved under again and he cried out underwater. Thrashing around he felt the water trickle into the back of his throat and Peter screamed, bubbles rushing at him which only made it worse. Light met his eyes and Peter gasped, swallowing water, spitting out as much as he could before he was shoved back under again._

"Tony, get over here."

_He choked and gurgled, panicking, his eye stinging and his lungs burning. Again, he was pulled out, barely given a second, which meant his next gasp of air backfired, water tunneling into his mouth against his will. Peter choked, flailing blindly, his chest feeling like it was being crushed._

"He won't snap out of it."

"Kid-"

_It felt like hours before he was finally pulled up and wrestled into a sitting position, his head forced to look at the ceiling, making it almost impossible to breath. Tears mixed with the water that was running down his face and Peter blinked, spluttering and gasping for desperately needed air._

_"You know why we're doing this, yes?"_

_Peter gasped, coughing again. He made out, "To...make me...stronger."_

_"You understand, yes?"_

"He's having a panic attack."

_"Yes," Peter sobbed._

_"Again," Hersh directed._

"Tony, snap him out of it!"

_"No-" Peter pleaded, being dragged over once again, fighting back against the hand that tried to force his head under the surface. His ribs were crushed against the side, making him want to throw up. He was tired. Peter coughed up water, jerking from side to side against the hand against the back of his head, "Wait- NO!"_

_"Peter."_

_"PETER!"_

"PETER!" 

Peter gasped and coughed, falling backward, but he never hit the ground. Tony fisted his shirt with one hand, grabbing his arm with the other, holding him up. 

"Kid, kid, hey- you're ok, you're ok-" he assured him, wide eyes watching Peter with concern and worry. 

Peter blinked, looking around at the Avengers who circled him in a semi oval. He steadied his breathing and straightened, Tony's hand falling away when he knew Peter could stand on his own. Peter blushed furiously, looking down, utterly embarrassed. He could feel all the eyes on him. Great, now look what you did because you can't keep your freaking crap together. Freaking water spill sets you off, Peter? What the heck is wrong with-

"Hey, we've all been there Pete," Tony assured him, nodding sincerely. He had the same look he wore last night.

Peter gave him a look.

"He's right," Wanda supplied. "All of us have."

"Except probably Vision, but he's an exception. He's special," Clint adds helpfully.

"I don't know if that's a compliment or a put down, but I accept it either way," Vision remarks. 

"It's not something to be ashamed of Peter," Steve says firmly. "You went through something no one should go through. And we all get that."

"I know what HYDRA is capable of. I know a fraction of what you went through Peter," Bucky added. "And you're not weak, you've proven that by being here."

"I told you kid, we're a family," Nat nods at him. "We look out for our own."

Peter gives all of them a small smile. And it's genuine. 

**1 Hour** **Later**

"Ok," Tony rubbed his hands, "let's get to work."

Peter followed him into the lab, Tony stopping by a table. "I'm going to go through- well FRIDAY is going to go through-"

_"Good save sir."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tony grinned, turning back to Peter, "she's processing a lot of data all at once. We could probably find them that way but piece by piece it would take forever. We need to narrow it down a little bit."

"How?" Peter asked and Tony winced. 

"Well, DNA is one of the best ways. We can use it to cross reference, it will make things a lot easier," he said slowly. 

He could tell Peter already knew what he was going to say.

"Kid, I know you probably don't like needles...but I really need to take a blood sample. If FRIDAY can collect DNA, we can get a really strong match and the search will go a lot faster," he said weakly.

Peter's face fell and the kid faked a smile, "Great. No- it's fine. It's- it's ok." He winces and slowly pulls up his sleeve on his arm. Tony's expression falls as he sees the bruises on the kid's arm that are right by his vein, caused by sloppy misses and repeated injection. 

Tony shakes his head, hesitant. "If you don't want to we can try-"

"Is this the best way?" Peter said firmly. Tony hesitated and Peter narrowed his eyes, "Don't lie to me."

Tony looks at him for a second, noticing the determination in Peter's eyes that shone like fire, "Yes."

Peter held out his arm and nodded, "Ok then."

Tony put on gloves and sterilized the needle. He went to grab a cloth and Peter stopped him, gripping his sleeve. "You don't- need to do any of that. Just," he looked down and said quietly, "do it."

"You sure kid?"

"Please," Peter urged. 

Tony nods and gently holds Peter's arm, watching the needle sink under the kid's skin and he hates the fact that Peter barely flinches. Like he's done this before...too many times. Tony quickly finishes and he offers Peter a bandage but the cut's already closing, he can tell. 

Peter rubs his arm and then shoves down the sweatshirt, "I'm good."

Tony gives him a weak smile and hesitantly claps him on his good shoulder. Then he walks over. "FRIDAY analyze the DNA for me, will ya? Narrow down the search pattern." He turns to Peter. "Your DNA differs slightly from everyone else's and that's called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs. You inherited your DNA from your parents, including those SNPs, so we can trace it back. Like Ancestry.com but not rigged," he shrugged.

"I- I don't know what that is," Peter frowned. 

"Good," Tony nodded. "Now, over here..." he waved him over. "Quick science lesson."

Peter walked across the room to where Tony was as he unclasped the lock and grabbed the handle of the main generator, pulling it out of the wall on the rack.

"So this is a processor," Tony shows Peter the specific part in the row of buttons and switches and wires, watching as the kid looked it over, his eyes flicking back and forth. "It powers this generator with a primary and secondary current, much like the gauntlet, so just think of it like that but just..."

"Bigger," Peter nodded. 

"Yeah," Tony nods. "So this generator powers this lab, which powers what we need, which is my-" Tony rolled his eyes, "In simpler terms it's a giant tracker that's not exactly legal."

"And that's gonna find my parents?" Peter asked. 

"Hopefully kid, yeah," Tony said. "Just..." he falters and turns, frowning. "I don't want to bring it up again, but your last name...are you sure you don't remember it? I didn't know if your memory-" he cuts off at Peter's bowed head.

"No," the kid says quietly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

"Ok, hey, no biggie, we'll make this work," Tony assured him, going over to the massive computer. "I have access into all the federal databases. I'm searching for birth records that have been either deleted or that match with individuals around your age who are pronounced dead. Then I'm looking through police records, any suspicious reports, or unsolved cases."

He swipes the screen, staring traces. "Cross reference that from what FRIDAY's gonna give you with the DNA, and we'll first have a certain type we're looking for. Hair color, eye color, race, et cetera. I have federal access to a bunch of those systems so then we'll track down an address. HYDRA didn't really go that deep into the west so I think we're staying east coast."

Tony rubs his hands, "And once we narrow it down completely, FRIDAY will double check with the sample, make sure it's a match and find who we're looking for. Then all we gotta do is search em' up and get their address."

Peter grinned, "That sounds complicated. Which is good."

"Yeah," Tony grinned. "You want to help me with this small fix? There's not much we can do now but wait."

"Sure," Peter shrugged. "Not like I have to be anywhere."

"You catch on quick," Tony remarked, marveling at the new blaster Peter had reconfigured. Peter wiped his hands on his jeans that were already messy and grinned. 

"I- uh, did a lot over the nine years I was there," he nodded, pressing his lips together in a half smile.

"Clearly," Tony inspected it. "So you tightened the-"

Peter nodded, "Yeah, so that the kick back isn't as hard. It builds up the kinetic energy and let's it out-"

"Amplifying the blast instead and reverting remaining power to-" Tony continued.

"The flight stabilizers," Peter finished. "I-if I connected it right," he stuttered. 

Tony grinned, "It may be a small bit off because this wire needs to connect to the center panel, but yeah. Brilliant kid." It was almost perfect. Tony couldn't believe the skill this teenager had. 

"Thanks," Peter smiled. 

"You really got a knack for this," Tony noticed, turning to look at him before raising an eyebrow, "I'm serious. Full time job here. Good pay."

"I don't even have a degree," Peter shook his head with a dry laugh. 

"Kid, you're smart. And you're going to school," he scoffed. 

Peter raises an eyebrow, "Says who? I don't have money. What if my parents don't have money?"

"Says me," Tony says firmly. "I got pull everywhere. You're going to high school and then college."

"You don't have to-" Peter stuttered. 

"I know," Tony flipped him a wrench and Peter caught it with one hand. "But you got skills kid. And a big life ahead of you. And this place, is always open for you. No matter where you go."

"Thanks Tony," Peter said sincerely. 

Just then Steve comes in, jogging down the steps. Tony greets him with a salute.

"Sam, Bucky, Vision and I are running a recon mission real quick," Steve informed him. "Hey Peter."

Tony set down his screen he had in his hand, his brow furrowing. "Since when?"

"Since 3 minutes ago," Steve shook his head. "I don't know what's up. They just asked a couple of us to be there."

"Ok," Tony shrugged. "Standard? Hey- don't touch anything."

Steve's hand recoiled as he was about to poke a screen and he shot Tony a look, "Should be. Nothing too suspicious. Seems pretty normal."

Tony crossed his arms, "Where?"

"Arms dealing base about an hour and half south. Never heard of it," Steve admitted. "I thought we just did a sweep of that sector." 

Tony rubbed his chin, "I thought we did too..." He shrugged, "Well it's possible they skipped over it the first time. They're still using that 1980 scanning tech. Is it a black market arms dealer kind of thing?"

"Yeah supposedly. I wasn't given much, which makes me wonder if it's nothing, or a big something," he said nervously.

"Well whatever it is, kick it good," Tony shrugged. 

"Yeah, we'll be back by 4."

Tony looked at his watch and whistled. "Dang, already 1? Time flies."

"You fixing up some suits?" Steve noticed, grinning at Peter. "Already getting him in the business?"

"Trying to," Tony grinned at Peter who blushed. "Kid's got skill."

"Don't doubt it. Ok, well we'll be back," Steve said drumming on the table.

"Oh, almost forgot," Tony jumped up and walked toward the back table, throwing a small device across the room to Steve who caught it. 

"And this is?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"That," Tony mocks, leaning against the table, "is your new shield magnet. Try it out this round."

"I don't need a new one," Steve sighed, protesting, "the other one works fine."

"Tell that to Nat who had to pick it up for you like 4 times-" Tony drawled before spluttering, "and you know what Rogers, you can't even be talking. I just got you to get rid of your stupid iPhone negative 2. You never know when you need an upgrade."

"Flip phones are better," Steve grumbles, tucking the magnetic piece in his suit pocket.

"Yeah for 90 year old men," Tony scoffs. "You better use that."

Steve started backing out and he gave a grin and pointed at Tony who knew what was coming, "Technically I'm over 100."

"Whatever," Tony rolls his eyes, flipping a wrench in his hand, "get out of here." He called over his shoulder, "You're welcome by the way."

Steve rolls his eyes and points at Peter before rounding the corner, "Make sure he doesn't blow the place up."

Peter grins. 

Tony waves him off as Steve disappears down the hall. Then he turns to Peter, "Ok, so we can take a break if you want-"

"No...I..." Peter slowed down, smiling slightly. "Can we keep going?"

Tony grinned, "Come on." He walked Peter over to the back door of the lab and entered his code, pushing the door open and letting Peter walk in. The kid followed him through, his eyes widening. He turned in a slow circle, walking over to the nearest table that had Tony's projections set up. 

"This is insane," Peter said softly, moving the 3D display around in his hands. He spun the suit and stretched it out, getting the hang of the technology in an instant.

"You like it?" Tony crossed his arms proudly. "I'm surprised it even makes sense to you." Then he taps Peter on the arm and points.

"See this here is what the problem is on most of my models." He duplicated the projection and zoomed into a section, rubbing his chin. "It's hard to get the levels just right. The palm acts as both a stabilizer and as a repulsor, which is new tech by the way, all made by yours truly."

"The compression levels," Peter nodded. "You have to get them balanced."

Tony looked up, "That's right. So the faster I make the suit-"

"The more powerful you need to create the blast," Peter finished. "But you have to control it."

"Bingo," Tony nodded, impressed. 

Peter grinned before looking up, "What's that?"

"Slow down kid," he laughed, thrilled by Peter's excitement. 

"Sorry," Peter blushed.

"That," Tony walked over to the newest model he was building that was on a platform with screen surrounding it. He turned to look at Peter with his eyebrow raised, "is what you're gonna help me with."

"Really?"

"Really."

"You're serious?"

"I'm serious. Are we gonna, keep going around like this?" Tony smirked, waving his hand. "FRIDAY run a check on the control surfaces. Going back to the basics here."

 _"Will do sir,"_ FRIDAY replied.

Tony hoped up onto the platform and tapped the center, "It would help if the suit was on FRIDAY," he joked, watching the center flicker to life, "thank you ma'am."

 _"My pleasure,"_ FRIDAY responded sarcastically.

"Up here," Tony motioned to Peter, "Lesson 1 my young padawan."

"What's a padawan?"

"Not important- oh my God- no, not important. This," he tapped the glowing center. "Is important."

"What is-"

"It's an arc reactor," Tony cut him off. "Technology that saved my life. In Afghanistan, when I went on a little...vacation, that's what saved my life. I had it, here, in my chest, and it acted as an electromagnet, a really powerful one, that stopped shrapnel from entering my heart and ending my utter existence," he drawled. "I recently got it removed, but it still powers the suit."

"It has to be really powerful," Peter said slowly.

"It is. Extremely," Tony agreed. "But so's my suit. Now, I've fixed a bunch of problems in the past. Main transducer was...sluggish," Tony knocked the side of the suit, "Almost died from hull pressurization from flying to high-"

"It iced up, didn't it?" Peter asked knowingly, still looking at the suit. 

Tony peaked around the edge. Peter wasn't even looking at him. Like he hadn't just asked a question that no 16 year old should have been able to know. He frowned, "Yeah- how did you-"

"I mean it makes sense." Peter still hadn't noticed Tony so he saw the kid wince, his hands curling into fists as he spit out, "Hersh- the guy who ran the base, tried manufacturing weapons." Peter looked up at the helmet in awe as he kept talking without probably even realizing. "US military radars catch everything, so he wanted his weapons to go higher. Ran a million test runs, each iced up and lost communication," Peter shrugged, like it was no big deal being exposed to that kind of stuff that young. "I always knew it was a problem, I mean...nothing is meant for the temperature change, I just didn't know how to solve it- how-" Peter looked around the suit to finally catch his eye, "how did you solve it?"

Tony was at a loss for words and he finally stuttered, "I uh reconfigured the shell metals, used gold titanium allow from a seraphic tactical satellite I had which ensured fuselage integrity while maintaining the power to weight ratio."

Peter nodded, "Huh...smart."

Tony blinked.

"So what do we need to fix?" Peter asked.

"Build," Tony corrected before turning around. "FRIDAY, give me an exploded view. Thank you. Highlight circuits."

_"Which ones?"_

"Ah, you're right. Ummmm, 7S and 9D," Tony narrowed his eyes, "Show me levels, both repulse and flight."  
  
The screen to his left lit up and flashed, a bunch of data popping up all over the place. Peter's eyes widened even more. Tony played around with the stuff for a little bit longer before showering Peter. "This part's very simple."

He brought up a screen and expanded it, pointing to the 4 levels. "These are representations of the compressed cylinders. Green good. Red bad, got that?" He patted Peter on the shoulder and walked back down to the suit, yanking down one of his robotic arms and using a wrench to pry off the section of the metal.

"Now, this is much easier with two people, but Pepper's not a fan of the way that it sometimes blows up," he sighed.

"Sometimes?" Peter repeated, looking over his shoulder.

"You move that level up and down," he pointed, "I will be in here doing the same. If we can configure the two circuits at the same time and bypass the first emergency system I have in place, we can lock it down and reboot the system to recognize those readings as the new stable reading. I think that will be able to fix my sonic speed problem."

"You're bypassing your own security system?" Peter gave him a look.

"Records were made to be broken," Tony grinned. 

"What happened when you went sonic?" Peter asked.

"Bad things, very bad things," Tony let out a small groan as he ripped out an unneeded piece before waving his free hand. "Ok, toy with it, I'm in."

Peter hesitated, "I'm not gonna kill you, right?"

"Hopefully not," Tony called back.

"That's great," Peter mumbled. "Here goes."

"Keep it steady," Tony directed, feeling the internal compressor shaking. He flipped the cusp up and grabbed the metal arm, attaching the miniature stabilizer firmly in place. He pushed on it harder, pressing together the two parts that were starting to separate with his free hand. "How's it looking Pete?"

"Dark green, almost orange." The kid hesitated and then asked, "Do you have an additional rebuttal for the excess-"

"FRIDAY, show him where it is," Tony instructed.

"Oh, thanks," Peter said and Tony felt the suit steady just slightly. "Hey uh...one of the cylinder's shut down," Peter called.

Tony sighs, "That's what happened to me." 

"Your suit shut down? I thought it wasn't supposed to?"

Tony grumbles, "It's never _supposed_ to-" The suit sparked and Tony ducked, a small piece flying out and hitting the wall behind him.

_"Sir I suggest we return speeds to normal. More support is needed to-"_

Peter leans away from the screen to look at Tony, "Speeds?"

"Yeah," Tony grunted with effort, twisting the arm to create more tension, "we're recreating sonic speeds against the tiny compression cylinders-"

"And you're holding one?" Peter spluttered. "That's insane."

"Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk," Tony said. Another piece flew out and Tony leaned to the side, exhaling sharply. "Close one."

"You want me to stabilize?" Peter asked slowly. 

"Keep going. I've always been good at dodge ball. If we can get one cylinder to stay for as long as possible I can create duplicates using the same data. Just keep those levels steady."

"One of them is still green," Peter said slowly.

"And the rest?"

"Rising fast," Peter said back.

"Great." Tony pressed harder, his eyes flicking back and forth. "FRIDAY try and detach the furthest 2 cylinders, they're wearing us down.

Peter shook his head, stuttering, "Wait- woah, woah woah, no- won't that trigger the reaction?"

"The part that Pepper hates?" Tony asked, pausing. "Yeah."

"If you blow up, it's not my fault," Peter said angrily. 

"Noted. Now!" Tony directed.

Peter cut off power and FRIDAY engaged the stabilizers. Tony felt the last cylinder pop and he groaned, "Great." The side of the suit exploded, the leg plate catching him in the chest. He was blown back, sliding across the floor, his shirt charred. He patted off a tiny flame on his sleeve, groaned and sat up, Peter peaking out from behind the suit.

 _"Trial was surprisingly successful,"_ FRIDAY admitted. _"One cylinder still intact. It did not reach sonic speed but it's 79% of the way."_

Tony held his back and got up, "Don't sound so excited FRIDAY." He winced, "Ah, I'm getting too old for this."

"What the-"

Tony turns and Nat is standing in the doorway. He waves weakly, "Hey, just-"

"Blowing things up I see?" she finished for him, leaning against the door frame.

"Not my fault," Peter called. "Just...for the record."

"Oh, I believe you kid," she grinned and Peter smiled. She turned to Tony, "I'm sure you heard Steve left?"

"Yeah," Tony stretched, setting down the part of the suit he was still holding. 

"Yeah, well, now we got called in too. Ross. Urgent meeting. You were specifically not invited."

"Because he loves me so much?" Tony smiled. 

"Because apparently you need to stay here to accept a transmission," she corrected. "They discovered something vital about HYDRA. He couldn't tell me over the phone. The whole team was supposed to come, but he just asked we bring who's here. We get the run down, and he's already sending the drive and encrypted files here, for you to accept and download onto our private server for the compound."

Tony nodded, wiping his hands, "So just soon? That's all I've gotta do? Pretty simple. And I get to miss out on a meeting with Thunderbolt? Win win."

"That's what I said. I'll call when we're heading back," Nat said with a small smirk. 

"Tell him I miss him," Tony joked. 

"Will do," she grinned. "You'll be ok? He's a handful," she said looking at Peter.

Tony waved her off, "He's actually doing-"

"I was talking to the kid," she grinned and Peter laughed as she restated her question with a smirk, "You doing ok Peter?"

"Yeah," he assured. "Thanks Nat."

She patted Tony on the shoulder, "You're a handful. I'll be in touch."

"Yeah, yeah," Tony rolled his eyes, walking back over to the suit as Nat left. He took a big breath. "Well that was fun."

"You ok?" Peter said, trying not to smile. 

"Considering I just got blown up, yeah," Tony says, flicking the screen up. He wipes his hands on his jeans. "FRIDAY, that sample saved?"

_"Compression cylinder being stored and analyzed. I will have the readings back to you in a few minutes."_

"No need, time for a break, right?" he asked Peter who shrugged. Tony rubbed his head, "I know I said we would watch Ghostbusters, but I've been waiting for this day for like...forever because there's something else you need to watch first."

A minute later the lab door was shut tight and the lights were off. 

"So it's a war. In space," Peter says slowly as they walk to the living room. "Why isn't it called Space Wars?"

"Just-" Tony put up his hands. "This is gonna be your new obsession I promise you."

"It's not a very creative name," Peter grumbles, sitting down on the couch.

Tony glares at him, "You're gonna regret that after you watch it, wish you had never said anything bad against this masterpiece."

"Sure," Peter rolled his eyes and sat down as Tony put it in and grabbed the remote, setting it up. 

Tony suddenly had a revelation and he turned to Peter, "Is this your first movie?"

"That I remember," Peter admitted. "You better not talk the whole time."

"I'm sticking around to keep you company," Tony grinned, getting up from the couch as he pressed pause. 

"Yeah well your company sucks," Peter calls after him, "Where you going?" 

"Can't watch a movie without popcorn," Tony shoots back with a grin, rounding the corner. "You want butter?" he shouts.

"I...don't...know?" Peter calls back.

Tony shakes his head. That's right. Well the kid should have fun with this. He turns another corner and walks down the hall, flipping the remote in his hand before turning into the kitchen.

Nat kicks her feet up on the dash, yawning. She feels her phone vibrate and she winces, shifting in her seat to grab it. She answers it, raising it to her ear, meanwhile sharing a glance with Clint who was in the driver's seat. 

"It's Steve," she says, putting it on speaker in the center so Wanda and Rhodey can hear as well who were both leaning forward from the backseat.

"Hey," she greets.

_"Hey..."_

The mood in the car changes entirely. Something's wrong. 

"What is it? What did you find?" Clint asks urgently. 

_"Nothing,"_ Steve says slowly.

Nat rolls her eyes, "Come on Steve-"

 _"No, I'm telling you guys. Nothing's here,"_ he says firmly. _"Vision are we-"_

 _"We're at the exact coordinates,"_ Vision confirms, _"No activity."_

_"We've scanned this place top to bottom, Vision has run scans and Bucky and Sam have swept the perimeter and this place top to bottom. No one is here, or was ever here."_

Nat frowns. 

Rhodey rubs his head, "That's....strange."

 _"Yeah, tell me about it. Maybe Ross got it wrong?"_ Sam asks. The speaker crackles. 

_"Also I'm really surprised we got a signal. It's been cutting out for the past hour, we've been trying to reach you guys,"_ Bucky adds.

"That's even weirder," Clint shakes his head. 

"That's not possible," Wanda says. 

"She's right it's not," Rhodey nods. "Your signals, our coms are supposed to reach. Tony designed those. We've put them next to handheld jammers and they've still worked."

 _"Well then something's blocking the signal,"_ Bucky said, _"Because we're about to lose you again."_

"Or someone..." Nat said slowly. "Rhodey, give me your phone."

Rhodey scrambled and handed her his phone. She quickly dialed. 

"This is Natasha Romanoff. Put me on the phone with Ross. Now. No, I'm not waiting, he's not on a call, or a meeting. Pick one, which is it? Why are you avoiding me? Put me on the phone with him, it's that simple."

"Nat what's going on?" Clint asked, slowing the car down.

"Put him on the- no. Now." She cursed, "Don't tell me he's in a meeting, he's not. I bet he left the building about an hour ago, didn't he? Didn't he? Told you to tell me to piss off in case I called," she snarled, nodding.

"Nat-"

"Tell me the truth," Nat hissed into the phone, "is he in his office or not or I swear to God, I will come up there and- he left. Thank you," she said calmly, before throwing Rhodey's phone back at him.

"Clint, turn around. We need to get back to the compound." Clint spun the wheel and everyone braced, wincing at the screech of the tires as he stepped on the gas and sped back down the road. She leaned toward her phone, holding onto the handle above her head, "Steve, you still there?"

_"Yeah, what the heck is-"_

"Get back to the compound. Ross split us up."

"FRIDAY, turn on kitchen lights," Tony said, moving a chair aside to fit through.

Nothing happened.

"FRIDAY?" Tony shrugs it off. Maybe it's a glitch. FRIDAY had been diverting a lot of energy into amplifying her signal, so it made sense. Or maybe she was running a test. This compound was big, so when it was something minor, Tony expected her to ignore him. 

Tony manually flicks on the light, which he realizes he just should have done anyway and opens the cabinet, grabbing 2 packs of popcorn and tossing them to the table before getting out two bowls. Setting down the remote so he can open the microwave with his free hand, he sets them down on the counter. Shaking his head and pondering over what movie series to watch next to blow Peter's mind he rips the plastic off of the popcorn bags and puts them in the microwave, setting the timer and going to push the start button. 

There's a noise behind him and Tony smirks, turning, "You really just can't help yourself can you kid-"

Tony stops abruptly as a hand shoots out and grabs his throat before he can yell to Peter. His eyes bulge and he grabs the arm, punching it.

There's a man behind the one grabbing his throat and he smiles, "No, I really can't."

Tony's cries out silently, his voice failing him as he's slowly lowered to his knees, conciousness leaving him rapidly as he gasps for breath, still clutching the arm that's depriving him from oxygen. 

"You son of a-" he chokes, still fighting as a hand clutches his windpipe harder. The intent is not to kill, but Tony almost wishes it was. He knows what's happening, and he can't stand by while-

"You tried Tony, I'll give you that."

"No," he croaks, trembling with effort, his lungs on fire, his face turning red. "Don't-"

He gasps and jerks, punching the arm as hard as he can, begging, pleading with a fiery gaze that screams hate, his chest warm, his entire body shaking. 

A fist hits him across the side of the head and he's dropped. Tony slumps to the floor, eyes rolling up into the back of his head. His forehead connecting with the tile acts as the final nail in the coffin, sending his world spiraling hopelessly into blackness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teehee don't kill me. Oooo that rhymed. Cliffhangers are fun to write haha, especially this one.  
> Thank you all so much for reading! Expect another chapter ASAP <3 I am super hyped for it.  
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated- I love to hear what you think.  
> Enjoy your first day of the new decade! Happy New Year to all you awesome people <3  
> I love you guys 3000


	7. Avenger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept writing and writing and was like I rly wanted to finish the whole Ross fight this chapter and then I neared a very high word limit and I was like ok ok ok FINE. *sigh* I have to stop. So it will wrap up in the first third of the next chapter with a scene that I already wrote and I absolutely love and then we will continue on our way :)  
> Sure Ross is slightly OCC in this one but ngl he's kind of not. I always thought he would try and get to Peter after Civil War in the movies and if you look at the crap he's done he rly is a jerk XD  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one, I have so much more planned, I am very excited. <3  
> Thank you all so much for reading and for all of your support, it means the world :)
> 
> I feel like my chapter names are cheesy- sometimes I'm rly good at them and sometimes I'm rly bad XD

Peter shouldn't have heard the thud in the room down the hall, but he did. His ears twitched and he straightened. Peter calmly grabbed the couch in his fists, tensing, his hair standing straight up on his arms. Staring straight ahead, he takes a deep breath. Then he slowly turns his head to the side, his gaze focused on the hallway Tony walked down just a minute ago. 

"Tony?" he calls nervously. He's probably over reacting. Tony drops things. Peter really hasn't gotten used to the life without HYDRA in it. He tries to steady his breathing but his whole body was tingling, every instinct screaming _RUN._

He hears footsteps but there's still no answer. Peter turns fully on the couch, calling out again, "To-"

"Freeze! Put your hands up!" 

Peter jumps to his feet as four men round the corner with guns, dressed in all black. 

"You might wish you hadn't asked that," Peter grins, flipping up to the ceiling and webbing the first man. He kicks him in the stomach before he lunges, rolling to the side and ducking down behind the couch. Needles pierce the ground to his left in perfect unison and Peter narrows his eyes. With a frown, he recognizes them. Tranquilizers. He hates those. 

Furiously, Peter grabs the couch cushion and uses it as a shield, feeling needles sink into it as he runs forward. He tosses it aside and lunges, knocking one of the guards off his feet. On the ground he spins and flips up, knocking a gun up before the man can fire, the guard firing at the ceiling. He punches him in the face before disarming him, shooting a tranquilizer at the other guard.

It hits him in the shoulder and he falls to his knees. Peter grabs him by his vest and tosses him into the wall with no effort. Then he jumps up, kicking off the ceiling to flip the remaining one over his shoulder as he falls, slamming him into the ground. Peter grabs the gun, hoisting the man up and pulling him roughly back, pressing the muzzle against his head as he wraps an arm around his throat. 

"Get back!" Peter shouts to the man that just rounded the corner. 5 more guards leveled their guns and Peter narrowed his eyes, "Stay back, I'm warning you." He presses the gun harder against the guard's head. "You think I won't pull this trigger?"

"Impressive." A man walks into the living room, smiling. He's clearly the leader despite being dressed the same as the men. Peter can tell him apart from the others. His eyes are cold and he doesn't blink, his mouth a straight line that twitches occasionally due to amusement. 

Peter tightens his finger on the trigger, glaring at the man, "Who are you?" 

"Someone who doesn't want this to go south," the man says calmly. 

"Screw you, it's already gone south," Peter snarls, backing up. "Who. Are. You?"

"You can call me Bridges. I work for someone that wanted this to go better," the man raises his hands, "but now I have no choice." The guards still haven't lowered their guns but Peter's not focused on them. There's a sick feeling in his stomach. This is going to go sideways...terribly sideways.

"And what do you want?" Peter snarls. After everything he'd been through with HYDRA, some stuck up freak is not gonna scare him. 

The man attempts a smile, "I want you to put the gun down-"

"Fat chance. Next," Peter snaps, cutting him off with a sneer. 

"Brave words for a kid," he remarks in surprise. Peter makes a face, pointing the gun at Bridges. 

"I won't miss," Peter promises. 

"HYDRA trained you to shoot too?" Bridges raises an eyebrow. 

"HYDRA trained me to do a lot of things you don't even know about," Peter snarled. "But I don't use any of them until some douche bag breaks into the Avengers compound and tries to kill me."

"Kill you?" Bridges asked, chuckling to himself. "You think we want to kill you?"

"Pack your bags and get the heck out of here," Peter swore. "Leave, right now. Or I'll-"

"Yeah, you don't want to do that Peter." Bridges' lip curled and Peter faltered slightly. 

"Oh yeah?" he snarls. "And why is that?" Peter tightens his grip on the gun. 

The man looks to the side and reaches behind the wall that leads to the hallway. He drags Tony into Peter's view by the collar, the man unconscious, with a cut on the side of his head, his chin slumped to his chest. 

"Tony?" Peter can't help but whisper. Fury erupts in his chest and he tightens his grip on the gun, "Look, I barely know him, just let him go." Maybe if he could convince him Tony wasn't a good bargaining chip- which- which he wasn't- Bridges would let him go.

"How naive do you think I am, Peter?" the man scoffs. 

"Not sure yet," Peter snaps back. "Let him go. This doesn't involve him. Then we'll talk."

"Peter," Bridges shakes his head, smiling cockily this time. "Don't be stupid. You have no leverage here. You really want to shoot me with that thing, go ahead. My men can still finish the job with Stark."

"You won't kill him," Peter dared, hoping he was right.

"No," Bridges admitted, "but...a bullet wound in the right spot is very, what's a good word... _debilitating_ ," he grabs Tony's chin and lifts his head, letting it loll in his palm before letting him slump back down.

"Don't touch him," Peter snaps without thinking. His gaze focuses on Tony, seeing the blood on the side of his head, the way he was slumped in Bridges' grasp- another person hurt because of him. Peter put his guard down for just a split second, let his tough act falter.

Bridges seizes Peter's moment of weakness, "Put the gun down son. You don't want it to end this way."

"You threaten me and then call me son?" Peter seethes, gripping the gun harder.

"No one has to get hurt," Bridges promises.

Peter's arm is shaking. Bridges presses the gun against the back of Tony's shoulder and sighs. "I'll give you to three," he says calmly, twisting his fingers into Tony's shirt as he presses the gun harder against his shoulder to the point where Peter winces. "One."

Peter snarls, hesitating, his hand clamming up as the gun starts to dip. He adjusts his hold, tightening his grip on the man while doing so, breathing hard, his head splitting. He was shaking, every sound too loud for Peter to focus. His throat closed up and his chest grew tight in panic.

Peter's eyes go wide as he hears the click of the safety off. "Three." 

"NO!" Peter drops the gun furiously, harshly pushing the man away from him, breathing hard. After a second too long he motions to Tony with a cold stare, "We had a deal. Let him go."

"My pleasure," Bridges mockingly obeys, letting Tony drop. Peter reaches forward instinctively but he's too far. Peter recoils and winces as Tony's head smacks against the ground. He raises a glare to the man who's smiling. 

"You sick son of-" Peter swears.

Bridges cuts him off, "Good choice kid. Take him."

The guard Peter had shoved forward gets his gun and shoots Peter in the leg with it. He feels the needle pierce and Peter opens his mouth in shock, his face contorting into that of pain as he drops to one knee, groaning. Soon there's another one- no two in his shoulder and Peter clutches his arm, yanking out the needles. His fingers are already blurry as he drops them to the floor and Peter gasps.

Another shot- two shots, one in the chest and the kicker in the neck. Peter slumps forward, trembling, unable to stop himself. He can't breath, the world is spinning so fast...he can't...see... He feels his wrists wrenched behind him as he's pressed into the ground. Cuffs slap onto his wrists and Peter immediately writhes on the ground as a shock ripples through his entire body.

He gasps in pain, trying not to black out, flashbacks just _itching_ to overtake him. He curls up and groans, steadying his breathing and already sweating with exertion. "What- did you- do to me?" he chokes out, gritting his teeth and tenses involuntarily. He hates how weak he is. Just like at the HYDRA base. Peter thought he was done with handcuffs. Done with this. No. He wasn't a puppet to them. Fight Peter.

"Oh kid, you ain't seen nothing yet," Bridges grins, crouching by Peter's side and ruffling his hair in a taunting manner. Peter recoils, thrashing away from him until two men yank him to his feet. Peter can barely stand, his knees giving out, his feet sliding out from under him as he tries to regain his footing. 

Bridges directs the men holding Peter up, "Boss is in the other room. Take him there. You two, deal with Stark."

The two men grab Tony's arms and start to drag him down the opposite hallway, Peter notices with real guns. He twists in horror, fighting in the men's grasp, looking behind him as he's dragged past Tony, "Wait- stop- no! What are you gonna do to him-"

"Make it hurt," Bridges says with a smile to the two men, "Boss' orders."

Peter's head shoots up and his eye widen. He digs his heels into the floor, pushing backward as he's dragged down the opposite hallway, "No- wait- what are you gonna do with him- no!"

They don't go far. Peter's tossed to the floor maybe a minute later, his eyesight still spinning. Whatever they gave him hurts like crap and Peter grits his teeth to stop from crying out, clenching his cuffed fists. Pain ripples through his body and Peter gasps for breath, the room fuzzy.

Black boots appear in front of him and Peter looks up weakly, shaking due to the effects of the tranquilizer. He's sluggish, but he never forgets a face.

"You," he spits before snarling, "Where's Tony?"

"Don't worry about Tony," Ross smiles. "This is all about you."

"All this for me?" Peter slurs, breaking into a smile as best I can, "You shouldn't have."

Ross smiles, "You remember me Peter?"

"Yeah. I never forget the idiots," Peter winks, before squeezing his eyes shut as another ripple of electricity surges through him. He groans, panting, and digs his forehead into the ground, grinding his teeth. 

"You like them?" Ross motions to the cuffs. "An adaptation from the shock collars we use. Cuffs are more effective. Less humiliating."

"What, you get too many complaints?" Peter mocks, gasping for breath. Ross raises an eyebrow in amusement. Peter repeats his question and snarls, "Where's T-" He's cut off, crying out as one of the biggest shocks hits him. He curls in on himself and grits his teeth.

"Enough, don't kill him," Ross instructs, sighing like he's bored or disappointed. The pain ceases and Peter takes a shaky breath, blinking and breathing a sigh of relief as his lungs fill back up and the last of the twitches fade.

"That was fun," Peter grins. "Do it again."

"Shoot him if he tries anything," Ross directs to a man holding one of the tranquilizer guns. Then he looks down on Peter as if he's inspecting him, "You have a high pain tolerance. I've never seen anything like that before."

"Courtesy of HYDRA," Peter spits, taking a deep breath. "Bite me."

Ross nods to himself, "You not only heal fast, but you recover fast. One of those tranquilizers should have been enough, but you've taken, what, five now? And you're barely effected. Like a teenage Wolverine."

"That could be offensive, I don't know," Peter admitted. "Who's Wolverine?"

Ross looks down and chuckles, "That's right. Nine years you were in there, and now you're out. Not even a teenager and you've gone through so much pain."

"You know saying that really makes you sound like a psychopath," Peter remarks. 

Ross smiles and doesn't answer. Instead he nods to his guard, "How much time?"

The man puts his hand to his ear, hesitates and then responds, "Neither team took the jet. Rogers is one hour out. 45 minutes for Romanoff."

"We've got time," Ross nods, pulling up a chair in front of Peter.

"Goody," Peter slurs, wincing before he raises his glare. "You're really stupid coming here, you know that, right?" When Ross doesn't answer, Peter changes his question. "What did you do with Tony?"

"Good Lord," Ross chuckles, standing and beginning to pace the room. He laughs, "It's like you two are inseparable. Don't worry about Stark, Peter."

Peter thrashes, getting to his knees and taking the next shock with only a flinch due to his anger and adrenaline. He grits his teeth, "What are you doing to him?"

"That's confidential," Ross smirks. "Of course I can't kill-"

"You hurt him and I swear to God," Peter warns, moving forward just slightly.

"Ah, ah, ah-" One dart hits the ground right in front of Peter's legs.

He sneers, "You missed. Want to try again? Only costs 25 cents-"

Ross puts a hand up at his guards who held their fire with effort due to their anger from Peter's snarky comment. Instead Ross breaks into a smile, "Now don't get all excited. You two get along, don't you? Rather well actually. I'm surprised. He's not an easy one to get along with."

Peter cracks a dangerous smirk, "You're one to talk."

"One liner number seventy? Stark is really wearing off on you, isn't he?" Ross raises an eyebrow. 

Peter winks, "No, it's just my natural charm."

Ross smiles at him almost in compassion, making Peter freeze. The man sighs, narrowing his eyes at Peter, "It's pathetic really."

Peter straightens, uncomfortable, and he shifts his weight. Ross is just staring at him and Peter pipes up, "I really don't like you staring at me, it's making me uncomfortable." Then he finally bites, asking slowly, "What's pathe-"

"Your relationship with Stark," Ross cuts him off. "Latching on to the first person you meet. That's what you did Peter, don't deny it. He took you in, that's new to you isn't it?"

Peter doesn't answer. He looks away but the next line brings his head snapping back.

"He's like the father you never had."

"Shut up," Peter hissed, glaring at Ross with pure fire in his gaze. 

Ross smiles, "I think I hit a nerve."

Peter snarled furiously, "I think you need to shove it up your-"

"You are so desperate to have a normal life," Ross leaned forward, looking down at Peter who suddenly lunged forward in a rage. He was immediately tackled and held back by two guards, one on each shoulder. He thrashed, breathing hard.

"So desperate to trust again. So desperate to have a family," Ross taunts, shaking his head. "And you think Stark is even close to a candidate in that arena?"

"Shut up," Peter says again, his chest heating up, feeling two tranq guns dig into his back but he doesn't care.

"Tony Stark, the billionaire playboy who can't put his ego down for one second, who gets everyone around him killed- Tony Stark? You really must be lost Peter if this is your perfect roll model. You've wasted precious time kid. You could have been running from me, but instead you sat around, playing with toys and watching movies-"

"SHUT UP!" Peter yells, before there's a sudden pinch in his back, two of them. Peter feels himself sway, crying out in pain as everything slows down, the floor moving as Peter blinks slowly. He tips and is unable to stop himself as he falls onto his side, groaning, the men letting him go.

"Shut up," he mumbles softly again, feeling feverish and sweating. He can tell it's taking a toll on him. Whatever his things have in them is making it harder for his system to fight it. Peter knows he can only take so many more before he passes out, and staying awake is causing so much pain. He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to clench his fists. 

Ross shakes his head in disappointment, leaning down to lift Peter's chin slightly so he can just look in his eyes, "He would have disappointed you. I promise you that."

"You don't- know anything- about him-" Peter spits.

"And you do?" Ross exclaims. "Peter, might I remind you, you met him not even 48 hours ago."

"And it took me less than 24," Peter gasps out, "to realize you're a flat out douche bag." Peter gives him a wink, "so I think my impressions are spot on, thank you." 

"You are so determined to be normal. That's your flaw Peter. HYDRA has ruined you, like it has everyone, and I am, truly, truly sorry for that. You didn't deserve what they did to you." The worst part was that Ross actually seemed genuine with that last sentence.

"Where's Tony?" Peter asks again wearily, wincing in pain, but his voice is firm as ever. "You hurt him, I'll kill you."

"Why are you protecting him?" Ross laughs. "He doesn't care about you. Tony's manipulative, he's self centered. You're nothing more but a publicity stunt to him. He'll grow tired of you because Peter, let's face it...you're a lost cause. And I know what you tried to have. Resurrect yourself with Stark, the father figure that will return your humanity that was stripped away?"

Ross sighed, "I get it. I'm sorry that couldn't work out. But it's too late for you. You're what HYDRA made you."

Peter froze, his senses spiraling back to normal. 

_"You're nothing anymore Peter."_

_"I know."_

_"We own you."_

_"Yes sir."_

_"Pain is your friend."_

_"I understand."_

_"You realize why we are doing this."_

_"To make me stronger."_

_"You will not fail us."_

_"I will not fail you."_

_"You are a weapon."_

_"I-"_

_"You are a weapon. Say it."_

"No," Peter says weakly, before his voice grows louder and it shakes with anger. "You don't know me." 

"I don't need to know you kid," Ross grinned, shaking his head and spreading his hands. "I'm just doing my job, trying to make sure you don't hurt people."

"I'm not a killer," Peter cries, wishing he could press his hands to his ears and just scream to block everything out. He didn't ask for this. This much pain. This much fear. This much...red.

He curls up but Ross' voice still breaks through, "Everyone who comes in contact with HYDRA is," the man says simply.

"I have spent the last nine years _fighting_ HYDRA, fighting what they tried to turn me into- I haven't hurt _anyone_!" Peter yells back, tears building in his eyes. There's silence. 

"We both know that's not true," Ross says quietly. Peter takes a gulping breath, blinking away tears. "Care to explain your training then Peter? How did you take out my men?" Ross snaps. "You hurt them. You hurt everyone around you. During your training at the base, they made you hurt people, probably even kill. You became a weapon, a threat."

"I didn't- want to-" Peter protests weakly, writhing in pain, his limbs numb. 

"But they made you," Ross urged. "You've probably killed more people than you know and don't even remember it. Your memory is foggy, Peter, I doubt you even know what's real and what's just in that messed up head of yours. And that's HYDRA's doing. I don't blame you."

Peter grits his teeth and struggles to get to his knees. "I know I'm messed up," he seethes. "I'm crazy, I've lost it, I'm screwed, a lost cause- whatever you want to call it, trust me, I know. But I am _not_ a killer."

"If I took your word for that Peter, I would have to take every criminal's. My job is to protect people, you have to understand that," Ross says softly, lifting Peter's chin ever so gently, staring into his eyes. 

Peter snarls, "Screw you."

"Defiance. I respect that," Ross admits.

Peter narrows his eyes, "Where's. Tony."

Tony groans, seeing the floor move underneath him. It makes his head hurt. He stirs and blinks, wincing at the pain in his head.

"Peter," he murmurs, and that wakes him up. He jerks up, raising his chin and then gasps, coughing. He tries to move his arms but they're tied behind him, two guards arms looped through his, dragging him down the hall.

His feet bump along the ground and Tony wakes himself up, trying to shake out the ringing in his ears. "Where's-" he opens his eyes wide, trying to get to his feet as they drag him, his arms sore from their grip. His feet stumble with them, pain flaring on the side of his head. "Where's Peter?" Tony thrashes, looking to the one on his left and snarling, "Answer me you-"

"Shut up," the man snarls, hitting him across the face. 

Tony wasn't expecting that and he groans, facing front again. His jaw stings and he can tell his lip is split. Tony growls threateningly, "You're gonna wish you hadn't done that."

"Really, old man?" the guard taunts.

"Really," Tony mocks, grinning, taking another hit.

"In here. We're far enough away," one of them says.

Tony hears doors open, a familiar sound and he's dragged down steps that look familiar even with his blurring vision. He groans and suddenly he's tossed to the floor. Looking up weakly and twisting into a sitting position he realizes he's in his lab.

He's got to get out of here. Now. A suit is just in the next room, and the gauntlet that Peter fixed is on the table behind him. Tony's head whirls, but in all scenarios, there's no way he can make it there without getting shot; both the guards had guns and he knew they were highly trained. All of Ross' agents were. He's got to get there some other way.

"Respect your elders you brats," he spits, stalling. The two men approach him and Tony pushes his feet against the ground, backing up, but he's too slow. The man grabs his collar and yanks him to his feet and Tony gives him a cocky grin right before he can punch him.

"I have been held captive by terrorists for three months in a cave in Afghanistan. If you think you can get to me, you're wrong. You're just two idiots in crappy costumes. Give me your best shot," he snarls confidently, evoking a flicker of unease from the man holding him. Then he changes his gaze, ignoring the hand grabbing his shirt around his throat as if it was nothing. 

"Don't touch that, you might explode," he says casually. The other man was holding one of Tony's simple gadgets that was completely harmless.

The guard holding Tony up chuckled, tightening his grip, "He's bluffing."

"Really not," Tony shrugged.

"It's probably useless."

"If your definition of useless is that you could kill us all, sure. By all means- keep touching it-" Tony's silenced by a hit to the side of his head, right where his cut was. 

"Boss told us to make it hurt," the guard snarls, trying to regain the upper hand that Tony just took away from him.

Tony grins, "Aw, isn't that sweet of Ross." He changes his expression, "You can tell him to go to-"

The man punches him again and Tony coughs, regaining his stance. "You know all this was really really clever boys," he remarks, looking between the both of them, "Ross, who I didn't think had an IQ over 5, split the team up, didn't he? There was no meeting. There was no arms dealer breach. That was all a hoax?"

"Einstein over here," the one on his right says, grinning cheekily as he leans against a lab table.

"Buddy, I was building artificial intelligence while you were hitting puberty," Tony snarls, getting an elbow to the jaw that makes his head snap back. He straightens himself and squares his shoulders, narrowing his eyes at the man holding him.

"What's the reaction for most people when you punch them? Fear? Worry? Pain?" He nods and then grins, "Not me. I'm just downright pissed," he snarls in the man's face. Seeing the guard's cocky expression falter he shrugs, "It's ok man, performance issues. Solid 1 out of 5-"

In a rage he's shoved backward and Tony winces as he crashes into a table and slides down, toppling it and it's contents, which fall behind him. He lands on his side and then does his best to conceal a grin. Getting up to a sitting position, he moves slightly to his left without the two men noticing.

"Wanna play 20 questions? I'll start," he suggests, his grin slacking. "Where's my kid?" he snarls. 

"Upstairs with the boss. They're gonna have a little talk first. Then we get to take him back to the Raft. Have a little fun with him," the guard sneers.

"Oh yea, is that right? Well, you touch him and that's the last thing you do," Tony warns dangerously, trying to get to his feet, before moving more to his left. 

"Or what?" the man taunts, "Whatcha gonna do?" 

"I'll kill you. I promise you that," Tony says as he clutches his prize behind him, slipping his hand in. "You lay a finger on that kid and I will end your life."

"Will you?" the guard nods, laughing to his buddy.

"Yeah, yeah, I will, you know what, I think I'll do it now-" He spins and looks over his shoulder at his hands that were still tied behind his back, and putting his bound palm out. Aiming as best he could, Tony took the shot, and years of wearing the suit paid off. The blast hits the man in the knee, dropping him so he smacks his head against the ground, instantly knocking him out.

Tony curses and dives behind a table as the other guard fires, bullets peppering the ground where he was. Tony rubs the gauntlet with his other hand behind his back, "Thank you kid," he mutters.

Tony presses his back against the table, breathing hard and wincing. The shooting stops and Tony inches his way around to the other side of the table. He slowly peeks around the side and then his grin falters; the man that was once in the center of the room is gone. Tony's brow furrows before his eyes widen as he hears a click near the side of his head. A muzzle presses against his temple and Tony curses.

The man yanks his shoulder back, slamming Tony into the table and pressing the gun to his forehead, "Luck has run out Stark. I may get in trouble for this, but at the moment, I don't care." 

Tony's eyes flick to something moving over his shoulder. "Go for it Dum-E," he says weakly. The guard turns just as the robot swings his arm, hitting him hard across the head. The man flies into a table and slumps to the floor, his gun clattering out of his hand. 

"Good boy," Tony grins fondly, struggling as he gets to his feet. He turns and grabs a Swiss Army knife from the drawer, cutting through the ropes that tied his hands behind him. Then he runs over to the computer, rubbing his wrists. Tony touches the keypad and presses the button it but it's blank. 

"FRIDAY?" he calls, "FRIDAY! Come on-" Then he freezes, turning around slowly, clicking everything into place.

_"Yeah, well, now we got called in too. Ross. Urgent meeting. You were specifically not invited."_

_"Because he loves me so much?" Tony smiled._

_"Because apparently you need to stay here to accept a transmission," Nat corrected. "They discovered something vital about HYDRA. He couldn't tell me over the phone. The whole team was supposed to come, but he just asked we bring who's here. We get the run down, and he's already sending the drive and encrypted files here, for you to accept and download onto our private server for the compound."_

"That son of a- the file," he realizes.

"That frickin file," he swears, sprinting over to the computer he had put the thumb drive in. He opens it, his fingers flying across the keyboard, his eyes flicking across the screen. He takes out the thumb drive and reboots the computer before clicking into the decoded file.

"No one messes with my stuff," he swears. Tony rejects the signal, hacking into the weak database that was set up before rebooting his system, restarting the computer and disabling the connections. The green bar fills slowly and Tony urges it to go faster, connecting a USB to his other computer.

Once the signal is no longer in contact Tony hears his earpiece crackle on the nearest table and he grabs the computer and runs over to that, shoving it in his ear while racing to open the back door in the lab. 

"Nat!" he yells, "Come in Nat. Rhodey? Steve?"

_"Tony! Thank God, I've been trying to reach you. Something's wrong-"_

"Little late Nat. Ross is here, uninvited. That jack-" Tony slams his hand down on the button to enter the lab, muttering. "Ross cut us off."

 _"He can do that? I thought you built this stuff!"_ Clint said angrily. 

Tony scoffed, "Yeah, to keep bad people out, not to defend from people within. There was no hacking done, we let him in."

 _"We let him- what? Oh God,"_ Nat said, realization in her voice.

Clint spluttered, _"The file! Ross and the file-"_

Tony nodded to himself, a furious grin on his face, restarting his main power generator, "Protocol when we built this place. President put it in place himself. To give Ross jurisdiction to any file or database if he got inside access. It was supposed to be during an emergency situation, in case we ever failed and he had to step up. All he needed to do was get to the public server, which is what he told me to do, and I did it- I listened to him and I did it."

 _"The minute he sent that file he was in our system, wasn't he?"_ Wanda sighed.

"Once he was in, there was nothing to it; a two year old could have done it. No hacking, just protocol. He shut FRIDAY down from there, comms, any communication- all of it. Because he had the authority- the authority we gave him- in my system-" Tony slams his hand down on a table, before knocking off a storage container, it's contents scattered along the floor. "And I let him right in God-"

 _"Calm down Tony-"_ Wanda said gently.

"I'm not calm!" he yelled. "This isn't just about hacking, his men were about to blow my head off just now. I don't think that was Ross' orders but at the same time I don't think he'd care if I was dead. This guy's seriously lost his marbles. You close?"

Clint cusses on the other line. _"We're on our way. Cap's heading back too. Both things were a set up."_

Tony pounds his code into the nearest computer, FRIDAY rebooting, all the screens turning back on. "I know," Tony hisses, flipping all the switches in his lab, "He did it to split us up."

 _"Well lucky for us he thinks you're being taken care of and he thinks we're both at least a half hour out, if not more,"_ Nat said firmly. _"We'll be back in 10, I figured out halfway- lucky guess, did a u-turn and we've been speeding ever since. The rest ditched their slow ride they took. Sam called a friend. They'll be there in 15."_

"I'm gonna kill him Nat," Tony said suddenly, nodding firmly to himself. There was nothing joking about his tone and Natasha got that.

She sucked in a shallow breath. Tony heard Rhodey's voice, _"Tony-"_

"I'm going to," he shook his head, furiously turning on his suit so FRIDAY could focus on SOS alerts.

Now Natasha tried, _"Tony you can't-"_

"He's got the kid!" Tony yells furiously, stepping into a suit and watching the helmet close over his head. When Nat doesn't answer, his voice softened and broke, "He's got Peter."

There's silence on the other line. Tony speaks quietly, "That's who he wants. That's who this is about. He has Peter." Anger than tackles any other emotion he was feeling. Tony then rips his arms out of the machines and sets up all of his inner display. "I'm not letting him get away. FRIDAY, disable coms." 

_"Ton-"_

Tony types on the screen, "Lock this place down. People can get in, not out. Keep calling special forces, alert SHIELD and the Attorney General. Get me everyone. Send out what Ross just did."

 _"Halfway done sir,"_ FRIDAY responds. 

"His last mistake," he swears under his breath, his eyes flicking across all the screens. "We've got breaches on South and West sides. Where's the kid?"

 _"Third Level,"_ FRIDAY responds. 

"You fully functional?" he checks with his A.I. 

_"Systems normal,_ " FRIDAY assures him. _"I'm sorry sir. All programs were authorized. They shut me out legally. I had no choice."_

"I know," Tony hisses. "FRIDAY it was my fault, not yours. I'm making sure that never happens again. Gonna have a word with the President." Tony makes sure all distress signals were sent, hacking through any jammer or opposing signal Ross had set up that were no match for Tony's tech.

He curses himself, going faster, "I should have seen this coming. I just didn't think he had the balls. Jam that satellite would ya? We need to amp up- yeah." Tony spun, cursing. "Ross had that authority to do that, to get into our server."

"But he won't anymore," Tony finished breathlessly.

_"Because you are revoking his authority?"_

"No," Tony snarled, "because if that kid is so much as scratched I'm gonna k-" 

_"Sir your levels are-"_

"I know what they are and I don't care," he said angrily, blasting open the door and storming out of it before blasting down the hall. He banks a turn and punches the door at the end of the hallway, firing at two agents who are dropped immediately. "Get me to my kid."

_"They're moving down the west wing, now on second level."_

"Show me a path to cut them off. Scan the building for any other threats and send it to Nat. They'll be here in 8 minutes, count down," he demanded, weaving around hallways and flying off the balcony. He stabilized himself, hovering for a second before dropping onto the second level. The path lit up to his screen, small figures in the heat scan showing up on the other side of the wing. 

Tony flew faster, blasting open a door to reveal four men that whirled and pointed guns at him. They open fire, bullets bouncing off Tony's suits uselessly.

"My turn," he snarled, locking onto each individual and firing small missiles, dropping every single one. He blasts forward, decking 2 of the men in the next room and dragging them as he flew, throwing them into their other team members and blasting beams of light as he shot by. 

"Where are they FRIDAY?" he demands, flying faster, crashing into a wall since he tried to bank a corner. More men come round the corner and Tony growls, "I don't have _time_ for this! Tell me they're close FRIDAY!

_"They're about to pass through the-"_

Tony saw the image in his screen and his eyes flicked to a panel the people were approaching. "That door, can you access it? Barn door protocol just for that section?"

_"Yes sir."_

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Tony grinned, watching the figures near the door.

_"I think so, yes."_

Tony narrowed his eyes, "Do it."

Peter's shoved forward, gritting his teeth. Ross with his four men are in front of him, five behind Peter, some with their guns against his back, two yanking him forward harshly. Peter sees the panel to his left blink and he frowns. 

Then his back tingles and he straightens, feeling the slight vibration on the floor that makes his feet numb. He turns his head just slightly, sounds becoming amplified, and he hears the small whir and whistle. The first man crosses over the door and Peter's head snaps back to the panel which is still flashing as if being operated. Very faint he hears a whir of a repulsor and Peter makes the connection. A small smile comes on his face. 

He watches Ross and his escorts pass under and just before he's about to, Peter shoves backward as hard as he can. Sure enough, the panel blinks red and the door slams down, shutting, before a stronger metal barricade closes over it. Peter flips, breaking the hold on the two men and kicking out, hitting one in the back. He twists his hands in his cuffs and shoots a web, jumping forward before slamming his head back, knocking the man he yanked forward to the floor. 

The door shakes, yelling muffled behind it. Peter whirls, the screen showing it was locked but slams his fist into the panel just to be sure and it sparks, shattering. 

Peter instinctively ducked as needles pepper the wall where he was. He rolled to the side and body checked a guy, before sliding to the floor. He spun, kicking his legs out, decking the guard who's gun shot up the ceiling as he fell. Peter flips up and shoves his shoulder into a man's chest before a shock sends him to his knees.

"Not cool," he growls and grits his teeth, fighting the pain before kicking the man who had pressed the button. Flipping down on the man's arm and making him drop the device, Peter happily grinds it with his foot, shaking off the rest of his shocks that sent pain radiating through his body.

Hands grab his wrist and Peter twists, heading the man in the throat before reaching down and grabbing his leg with his cuffed hands behind his back. Peter stands, yanking the man onto his back. Then he rolls, bringing his bound hands in front of him and firing a web, webbing a guard to the wall. "Wow, you guys really suck."

He hears a series of shots and feels at least 5 stings, to his shoulder and back. He whirls and sees two guards still standing, one with a stick, one with the tranq gun. 

Peter snarls, "Sorry. That doesn't work when I'm pissed." 

He webs the gun, yanking it up and hitting the man in the face with it. Peter holds up his cuffed hands, watching the man's technique and the guard lunges. Peter ducks but forgets about the stick that hits him in the stomach.

"Screw you," he groans, coughing, his eye flashing. He ducks another punch and elbows the guy in the gut before bringing up his cuffed hands and whacking him across the jaw. He goes flying and Peter webs the ceiling with one hand, pulling himself up as another tranq misses him. He drops and rolls, flipping a man over his shoulder and kneeing him in the gut to help him slam into the floor. 

Suddenly the far wall explodes and there's a huge powered blast. Peter covers his head, stumbling. He turns, one of his wrists out, ready to fight. Instead he sees the last man standing had a gun pointed toward him standing very still. Too still. He promptly falls over, a huge charred circle on his back. Behind him is the Iron Man suit, gleaming in the dust that rose from the wall he had broken down to take the shot. 

"I guess you had it all under control," Tony grins, the helmet receding to his neck. His eyes flick around to the guards Peter had taken out, but mostly his gaze is locked with him. The look he has on Peter has never seen before. 

"Tony-" Peter breathes a sigh of relief and stumbles forward, the effects of the tranquilizer gun now taking effect now that his adrenaline was wearing off. The room spun.

"I gotcha kid-" Tony reaches forward and catches him as he trips, holding him up. "Are you hurt?"

"No, just-" Peter motions over his shoulder and Tony pulls out the 3 tranq needles. Peter doesn't wince. He gives Peter a dangerous look and he quickly stutters, "Tony I'm ok- it will wear off in a few seconds."

Tony grabs him firmly by the shoulders and looks into his eyes, "Did they hurt you?"

Peter doesn't really want to answer that. He swallows and then says quietly, "I'm fine. Nothing compared to HYDRA." 

Tony's gaze turns to that of fury and he looks down at Peter's cuffed hands. "Lemme see," he says gently. Peter groggily raises his cuffs and Tony holds out a fist, a small defined laser cutting through them after a few tries. The cuffs release and Peter shudders, glad to have them off. 

_"Those cuffs have circuits through them. They seem to be an advanced version of the shock collars on the Raft,"_ Peter hears FRIDAY say.

"Those sons of-" Tony starts forward to the door before he trails off, putting a hand on Peter's back and turning him around. "Come on, I'm getting you out of here. Then I'll deal with Ross," he says coldly. He started forward but Peter grabbed his arm. 

"Tony," he says breathlessly.

Tony's head snaps to him and he grabs his arm back, worry coming over his face, his brow knitting in concern, "Yeah kid?"

Peter smiles, "Thanks. Thanks for coming back."

"Always," Tony said firmly before his confident gaze fell and he shook his head. "They got the drop on me, I'm sorry kid. We played right into his hands. I- I never wanted this to happen-"

"It's not your fault," Peter interrupted him, "It's mine." He pointed to the cut on Tony's head and gazed over the hits Tony had taken to his face alone. He was sure the suit was covering some as well. 

"No," Tony counters. "That was my smart mouth's fault. It's been a problem for years." Peter smirks slightly and Tony waves his hand, "We'll argue later. I'm just...glad you're ok."

Peter was about to say something when FRIDAY spoke. _"Four minutes."_

"Four minutes?" Peter asked Tony, "Till what?"

"Till Auntie Nat and Uncle Stevie get here," Tony said hastily. He motioned him forward warily as the door shuddered, "Right now we need to go. You up for a sprint?"

Peter grinned and started to jog, "Keep up old man."

"Just like old times," Tony grinned, firing up his blasters and shooting forward after Peter. "FRIDAY, keep me updated on that door. We're getting to the back exit."

 _"50% holding,"_ she responded. _"Be careful. They know where you are."_

"Let them come," Tony snarled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have sooooo much more planned it's not even funny- it's freaking awesome. I hope you liked that one, it seemed short to me but ig it wasn't. Tell me if you like this length, or the shorter ones etc.  
> Please leave a comment and kudos- it is greatly appreciated and I love hearing what you guys think!!! Stay tuned for the next chapter, a reminder that since school is starting again I will not have as much time to write, but I will do my best to keep with the normal 2-3 day gaps.  
> Thank you for reading and stay tuned!!  
> I love you all 3000


	8. Bulletproof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you know when you're just typing your fic and then the internet just decides to die and then the entire thirty minutes of work are just gone and you are on a roll and once you realize your eyes go wide and you just grab the nearest paper you kind find and try and write down everything you remember you wrote and try and do it again but you know it's not gonna be the same?  
> Yeah. Me too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooooo lovely people I am so sorry this was a little late. It was gonna be later but than the clouds opened up and there was talk of snow and my county is a wimp and then God said let there be no school so then I had time to finish muahahaha and NOT present an english project. So it's been a great day <3 
> 
> this is a shorter one I'm sorry but I packed a lot in. Next one will be longer I promise :)  
> like I said I've got a lot a lot planned heeeheeeee  
> enjoy the read!!

_"Two minutes sir."_

Tony dropped to the ground, breaking into a slow jog. "Wait," he directed. Peter rolled his eyes but did as he asked, shouldering the wall behind Tony. Tony peaked his head out around the corner. 

" _Two teams sir, about to turn down this hallway. Ten men."_

"Ok, go, go," Tony said firmly, and they ran across the hall before the team could spot them. "This way," he said. They ran for the steps and Tony shoved the door open, looking down the center over the rails. 

"Keep up," Peter quipped, jumping over the side and webbing the ceiling as he dropped to the bottom floor. Tony flew down after him, landing on one knee. 

"You had to one up me, didn't you?" Peter grumbled. 

Tony grinned, relieved that Peter was making light of this situation. He checked the timer and nodded, "They'll be here soon. We need to get to that back door. You listen to me," Tony put out a hand before they could reach the door to the first level on the landing.

He pointed, "When that door opens, you run, you web and you sprint as far away from here as possible." His suit receded to his neck and Tony transferred the com frequency to his suit, taking out his ear piece and attempting to put it in Peter's ear.

The kid smacked his hand and took it, doing it himself. Tony's voice was calm and collected. "These will turn back on. You contact Nat or Steve or anyone. They will come find you. And you get far away from this mess. I'll handle this."

Peter actually grinned, "Woah, woah, woah, this is funny."

"What's funny about this-" Tony stuttered, "there's absolutely nothing funny about this situation."

"You expect me to leave," Peter grinned.

"I expect you," Tony said firmly, "to trust me. And I know you don't yet, but Peter, you have to on this one. You don't have a choice."

"I do have a choice," Peter scoffed. "I'm staying."

Tony sighed, doing a quick swipe of the glass window section on the door and the stairs to make sure no one was coming, "Pete, I'm not gonna-"

"It's not because I don't trust you. I'm not leaving. This is because of me, he came for me. I'm staying. That's final, we can argue later," he shot back, crossing his arms. 

_"One minute."_

"I'm not gonna be able to change your mind, am I?" Tony sighed. 

"Well you're getting to know me better," Peter grinned. 

Tony bit his cheek and then went for the door, yanking it open and looking side to side. He ducked back in at a shot and turned, "Stay here for a second."

He opened the door and walked to the center of the hallway. "Hey guys! Maybe we can talk about this?" he called. The guards spun as they peppered him with bullets and Tony sighed, waiting just for fun, flashes lighting up his display.

"Good talk," he said, firing back and dropping the men. He spun and shot the panel, closing off a door as more men tried to fire at him.

"FRIDAY make sure that stays locked until I say otherwise- woah!" Tony said as he fired down the opposing hallway, narrowly missing Peter who had webbed up the five men Tony had planned to take care of next.

The kid flipped to the floor; he had been hanging from the ceiling and he grinned, "Friendly fire."

Tony gave him a look. "If you hadn't been there you wouldn't have almost gotten shot," he pointed out. 

"You're right. You would have instead," Peter nodded.

Tony knocked his head with a clanging sound, "Bullet proof armor."

"Saved you some time," Peter crossed his arms. 

"You just have to have the last word don't you?" Tony sighed. 

"No," Peter grinned before his eyes focused on something behind Tony and his expression slackened, his entire body going tense. "Duck."

"Wh-"

"Duck," Peter repeated. Tony did what the kid asked, dropping to the ground as a kid shot a web over his head. Tony turned and saw it hit a man straight in the chest, trapping him to the wall the minute he turned the corner with his gun drawn. 

Tony straightened and Peter looked left and right down the hall, "Now where?"

Tony opened his mouth to speak when suddenly FRIDAY beat him to it, " _They're here sir. East entrance. Already met with resistance."_

Tony cursed, "They're on the other side of the building. FRIDAY send out my signal, you got that?"

_"Sent."_

"Get them a clear path," he said, "you've control of that whole wing. Deploy all suits. And continue sending signals. Lock doors where you can, trap Ross' men in. Barn door protocol, block off sectors."

_"Sir one of Ross' teams has disabled one of my prime generators. I need to revert power. What do I have the authority to disable?"_

Tony cursed, "Crap. Keep my weapons and display up." He cussed again, "Disable tracking, we'll make do."

_"Yes sir."_

Tony cursed again, motioning Peter forward, "Come on kid-" Suddenly Peter grabs his arm. Tony turns around and meets his eyes. He hates himself for not noticing it before. Something's off. Something's not right. That look, Tony has seen it before. 

"Peter, what's wrong?"

"What does he want with me?" Peter demands, and Tony now saw the kid's hand is shaking. Maybe it had been for a while. Peter had grown up hiding these things which was why he was so good at it. "Before you came in...Ross said he was sorry- he said I didn't deserve what happened to me but that he had no choice- he said he was doing his job- protecting people-"

"Peter-" Tony tried. 

"He said he was going to take me somewhere- said I was dangerous-" he stuttered.

"He was going to take you to the Raft, a place where no one deserves to go, especially not you," Tony said firmly.

However, once the teen started talking he couldn't stop, changing from sentence to sentence every couple of words, clearly spiraling. Peter cried out the last two thoughts that were pounding in his head, "He said I would hurt people- he said I was a killer- like HYDRA wanted me to be-"

"He said..." Tony repeated weakly, fury in his gaze as he demanded, "Don't. Peter, stop it. Whatever Ross said, don't-"

"Yeah, well what if he's not wrong?" Peter said angrily, pushing away from Tony. He looked down the hallway at the man he had just webbed to the wall and staggered back only to turn and look at the men left slumped on the floor. His breathing became more frantic and he looked up at Tony with a spark of fear and anger. There was so much fury that Tony had seen before, yet it still scared him. 

"Look what I did-" Peter seethed brokenly. "And I didn't even blink- I probably did worse and he was right I don't even remember-"

"Hey- HEY!" Tony grabbed his shoulders, shaking him roughly to snap him out of it. "I don't know what he said to you, or what he did to you Peter, but don't listen to him. That's what Ross does, he's manipulative, he gets inside people's heads, he's a businessman. He's lying kid." Tony was the furious one now. "Look he got to you and he shouldn't have. I'm sorry. But please, I've been dealing with this jerk my whole life, whatever he said to you, block it out."

Peter looked down, his fists still clenched, his eyes wandering among the bodies on the ground. 

"Eyes on me kid, I'm telling you what we're gonna do. Eyes, Peter," Tony said gently but firmly, waiting for Peter's gaze to meet his. "We're gonna kick some more butt. Then we're gonna burst our way out of here. We're gonna loop around and meet up with the rest of the Scooby game and then I'm gonna give Ross a run for his money."

"Can you even do that?" Peter asked, his tough guy act back, but Tony could see the residing pain in his steady glare. 

Tony scoffed, "Can I do that...Kid, I'm going to the President of the United States and the Attorney General. I have Ross on multiple violations, assault of a minor, illegal use of the Accords, and multiple charges for broken agreements and charters he signed off on. He also broke into my _Avengers compound._ He's in a deep pile of crap. He doesn't realize what he just did. But it won't matter. He broke into my house, he separated my friends, took over my own equipment right under my nose, i'm gonna kill him."

Peter's shocked by that, "Tony-"

"No kid. Don't," Tony warned. "I've put up with him for way too long. Taking you and- don't lie to me, I know he hurt you... _that_ was the last straw."

Peter clearly didn't know what to say to that so he didn't say anything and Tony didn't want him to. He motioned down the hallway, "Let's go."

They rounded the corner and Tony saw the door at the end of the hall shake. "Peter my tracking's dead. Your my eyes and ears now, you got me?"

"Yeah, I got you," Peter said nervously as they crept forward. The door was blown off and he and Peter covered their heads as it shattered. "At- at least ten," Peter alerted Tony. "It's like they aren't moving; I can't tell how many there are. You think they're waiting for us?" 

"I don't know. Let's hope we have the element of surprise. Get to the wall," Tony demanded, smoke blocking the guard's from view. Peter protested and Tony flipped up the helmet just to shoot him a glare, "Who's bullet proof? Me! Now get back."

He shoved Peter aside just as the kid yelled, "Wait!"

There was a high pitched whistle and Peter screamed at him to move, but Tony couldn't lunge in time. A blast caught him in the chest and he went flying backwards, ripping up the ground of the hallway, landing near the opposite end. 

"TONY!" 

Tony groaned and sat up in the rubble, his suit scratched and dented just slightly. He hurriedly got to his feet and slammed his foot against the ground, his booster sparking and spluttering to life, shooting him down the hall but Peter had taken charge. 

The kid flipped to the ceiling, avoiding bullets and Tony fired blasts at all the men's guns, making them fly out of their grasps. Peter grabbed one and spun, slamming it into a man's head before dropping to the ground and spinning, flipping one to his back. He ripped off a bullet proof vest and used it as a shield to body slam the next man, tossing him into the wall before looping the arm around a man's head and slamming it into his knee. Tony fired, taking out a man who had his gun aimed at Peter's back before turning and firing at the control panel to close the door as more men came into view.

Peter spun and punched, webbing a man to the wall before flipping up and sticking a man to hang from the ceiling, cocooned in webs. Tony backed up and they were back to back, Tony firing blasts, Peter shooting webs. Peter spun and landed on one knee, twisting a gun out of a man's grasp and tossing him towards Tony who blasted him in the chest. 

They both stood, breathing hard and Tony nodded, "Ok, let's go, let's go, down this hallway- hey, hey, hey- bulletproof vest. Now. Come on."

"Are you kidding me?" Peter protested. 

"Hey," Tony shook his head. "Nu uh. Zip it. Adult talking. Are you bulletproof? No. And we both know there are lots of men with guns behind that door. Don't make me ask again."

Peter, grumbling the entire time, took off his sweatshirt and slipped on a vest before putting the hoodie back on and knocking on the hard material, "Happy?"

"Freaking thrilled," Tony said back sarcastically. 

"I hate you."

"Brat."

Tony motioned him down the hallway and stopped behind the last door. 

"There's people behind there. Lots," Peter said simply. 

Tony cursed, "I know, I know. Look I'm gonna blow that place up, like big time. We're gonna have a split second to do so, but we make a break for the exit. We'll loop around, I know a way. Meet up with Nat. Got it? So when I tell you to run, you run."

Peter nodded. 

Tony put his hand on the door, his palm heating up, "Ready?"

"Ready."

Tony blasted the door and ran into the main room, Peter behind him, sunlight streaming in from the glass windows. He heard at least 30 clicks of a gun and he froze, putting a hand out to stop Peter, who had attempted to grab him the minute he burst in. His helmet receded to his neck and Tony cursed under his breath, skidding to a stop.

"Nice of you to join us Stark," Ross said, grinning, standing in the center of the room. "Really nice place you have. It would be a shame to mess it up."

"You already blew up the east wing, why not do the west too? Maybe that will satisfy your OCD?" Tony called back, putting an arm out in front of Peter and hissing over his shoulder, "Stay behind me. No matter what, you understand?"

He turned back around after Peter nodded slowly. "You knocked me out," he grinned at Ross.

The General smiled, "Rightfully so. But you didn't stay out long enough. Because here's Peter, completing the new duo," he said tightly, clearly pissed.

"Long time no see," Peter snarled. 

"If people didn't know you better they would mistake you as father and son," Ross mocked, making taunting eye contact with Peter. 

"Yeah, right," Peter scoffed angrily, a startling fire in his gaze, directly aimed at Ross with a form of intensity that shocked him. He was missing something he was sure of it and Peter's tone as he seethed, " _shut_ up," confirmed it. 

"Funny, people don't need to know you better to realize you're a flat out douche bag," Tony countered quickly.

"That- really did't make sense- what you said," Peter whispered behind him.

"Thanks kid, you know what, who's side are you on?" Tony hissed back.

"Sorry."

Ross sighed, interrupting them, "Tony, I didn't want to do this-"

"Yeah this isn't like you. I didn't know you had balls," Tony sneered.

"Hand over the kid Stark, he's the only one I want," Ross said simply. 

"Not gonna happen," Tony said firmly. The first row of guard's started forward and Tony immediately raised a palm, his blaster heating up. The men stayed where they were and Tony grinned cockily, "That's right. Back up."

"Don't be stupid Tony," Ross smiled.

"I'm gonna kill you," Tony said firmly. "You know that? You've pissed me off too much. But going after a sixteen year old? That's low, even for you."

Ross seemed amused, "You're gonna kill me?"

"Are you deaf?" Tony snapped. "And let's see if you're blind and deaf. Do I look like I'm lying?" 

"We've go you outnumbered 20 to 1."

"I like those odds," Tony snarled. Sure, he didn't have tracking but he still saw the man's trigger finger tighten and he whipped his arm up, batting away a tranq dart. Peter flinched and Tony saw him set his jaw, becoming more alert. He could tell the kid was tense, eager to strike and he backed into Peter slightly, hissing, "Behind me Pete."

Peter let out a small growl of discontent and Tony's head snapped back to Ross. 

"You know Tony, I thought you would have been smarter, I mean, at first I didn't think my plan would work," he laughed to himself. "But you fell for it. Your team fell for it."

Tony snarled, curling his fists. 

"It wasn't even that hard. But what were you thinking Tony? Letting Peter stay? Getting him out of there in the first place? I think he reminded you of yourself and you put aside any consideration that he could be a killer or that he could work for HYDRA. I don't think this is business I think this is personal."

"Personal," Tony snorted.

"You gonna tell me I'm wrong Stark? Time and time again you've showed you can't be trusted. This team is out of hand, this organization is out of hand. You are not fit to-"

Tony lunged forward furiously and Peter grabbed his shoulder and arm last second, stopping him. Tony lowered his helmet, breathing hard. 

"Tony- Tony-" Peter muttered weakly so only he could hear.

Tony steadied himself, trying to calm down, "You son of a- I swear to God Ross-"

"Hand over the kid and you won't get hurt," Ross repeated. "Final offer."

Tony scoffed with a snarl, "Then what are you gonna do? Ground me? Put me in time out?"

Ross sighed, stepping forward and crossing his arms, "Move."

"No," Tony said firmly.

Suddenly the doors on either side of the room crashed open and Sam flew in, firing at the guards. Steve rolled in and threw his shield, decking a line of men. Vision blasted through and shot forward, grabbing four agents at once. Natasha and Clint kicked down the door on the other side, Rhodey grabbing Clint's harness and flying him to one of the bars on the ceiling. An arrow soon pierced a guy right in the chest. 

The guards turned, the guns that were once trained on Tony and Peter now aimed elsewhere.

"I can fight," Peter said firmly through the chaos. "This isn't a negotiation and I don't need your permission."

"Teenagers," Tony rolled his eyes as he shot forward and blasted a man out of his way. Peter shot a web and swung into the air. Tony slammed into an agent, swooping to the floor, blasting him in the chest across the room. Then he spun, finding himself back to back with Romanoff.

"Nice of you to show up!" Tony shouted.

"Screw you for turning off coms," she said back, putting a man in a headlock and grabbing his gun, firing at the guard Tony had pinned to the ground. 

"Yeah, yeah-"

"Still want to kill him?" she asked, firing again, dropping someone behind Wanda who was blasting men aside with her red energy. 

"Yes," Tony growled, scanning for Ross in the crowd. Something hit him in the side and Tony turned only for the man to be gunned down. He turned and saw Bucky who had someone else clutched in his metal arm; he had fired with one hand. Tony nodded at him. 

Peter swung by, trapping a man with a web. 

"Hey kid!" Steve yelled, tossing his shield up, "Catch!"

Peter webbed it and threw it as he spiraled, blowing a man backward before yanking the shield back into his hand and dropping it back off, "That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all."

"All in the swing," Cap grunted, throwing someone up as Peter kicked him midair to Sam who slammed him into the ground. Clint fired an arrow at the nearest light, dropping it on a man Natasha kicked backward. 

"Clint, really? Try and not blow up my house?" Tony yelled, hovering midair. Rhodey sided next to him and they combined their two blasts to blow up the hallway that had agents coming in.

"Never thought this day would come man. We should have seen this. Did you call everyone?" Rhodey asked.

"Everyone," Tony confirmed. 

Rhodey saluted him, "Good."

There was suddenly silence. Tony dropped to the ground, looking around, "FRIDAY where's-" He turned and stopped, walking forward calmly. Ross was in the corner, two agents that had been protecting him were either dead or unconcious next to him. His arm was broken, twisted behind his back, his dress pants ripped.

Ross coughed and grinned as he was circled. He rasped out, "I've seen better days."

Natasha, Bucky, and Sam readied their guns. Vision's mind stone was gleaming, Wanda's hand sparking. Clint had an arrow notched. Steve had his shield ready, a look of death on his face. Rhodey had his palm out. 

Tony was in front of all of them, his helmet receding to his neck as Peter dropped to his side, breathing hard. "It's over Ross," Tony said angrily. 

"You gonna kill me Tony?" Ross slurred daringly, a cut on the side of his head, his suit dirty. 

"No," Steve said quickly but even he had a hard time speaking his next sentence, "You're- gonna go to jail and spend the rest of your life wishing you had never double crossed us."

"I think Stark has better ideas," Ross pointed out. 

It was true. Tony was shaking, his hands clenched, his chest burning. His eyes were pure fury and he looked sideways at Peter who was staring at Ross blankly. Peter made eye contact with him and nodded. 

"Death is too nice for you," Tony hissed. "I would love to kill you, don't test me." Tony heard sirens and he lowered his palm. 

"You never fail to surprise me Stark," Ross said before he sat up, his arm whipping out from behind his back. Ross pulled the trigger and Tony's arm shot up and fired, hitting Ross straight in the chest. An arrow pierced his shoulder and Natasha was the first one to pull a trigger, another shot echoing in the room. The shield slammed Ross in the chest and rebounded back to Cap. Red magic died just before it hit Ross, and the rest of the team held their fire, realizing he was already dead. 

The sound of the first shot echoed in Tony's ears as Ross hit the wall hard and crumpled, folding on himself, a charred hole in his chest. 

Peter had stumbled back from the bullet that hit him right in the chest and the kid groaned. There were shouts from the team as Tony caught the boy in his arms before he could hit the floor, his heart stopping in a panic as he made eye contact with the kid.

Peter winced, his eyes scrunching up in pain. Then he made out, "Ow. I forgot what that felt like, but this is slightly better." The kid lifted his sweatshirt to reveal the bulletproof vest Tony had made him wear and he gave a lopsided grin, "I hate you."

"Brat," Tony said in pure relief, helping him stand straight, a supportive arm holding him up. Sighs of relief echoed around the group as sirens got louder. 

Peter grinned. 

**2 Days Later**

"Woah! Hold on!" Peter yelled, kicking off the blanket as Tony paused the movie, "Are you kidding me? He's his father?" 

The entire team laughed. Clint shook his head, "You're the only teenager in the world that didn't know that."

"But that's not possible?" Peter shouted.

"That's what Luke said too," Sam pointed out. 

"Shut up," Peter groaned. "Oh my gosh, my head hurts."

"We need more popcorn," Natasha said, sharing a bucket with Wanda.

Tony laughed and got up from the couch, "I'll get it." Peter grabbed his arm, his eyes wide, remembering the last time Tony had done that. Tony smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry kid. FRIDAY's working this time."

 _"Yes sir, might I also add that you were worse when you first saw the movie,"_ FRIDAY responded. 

Tony sighed, shaking his head with a small smile, "Thanks for that." Peter slowly let go of his arm and nodded. Tony walked to the kitchen.

Peter, more relaxed now, slumped on the couch and tried to deal with what he has just witnessed. "Obi Wan said Darth Vader killed his father, remember?" he pointed out angrily. "He lied!"

"Because his father died when he became Darth Vader," Bucky explained. Peter looked at him blankly.

Steve grinned, "Give the kid a break, I was confused when I first saw it too."

"Oh yeah, right because you were a human cap sickle for like 80 years," Clint teased. "Hey, you and Peter should go memorize pop culture references together."

"I will chuck my shield at you Barton," Steve threatened jokingly and Peter grinned.

"I believe he was using a figure of speech, saying that metaphorically, Luke's father died when he gave into the dark side of the force," Vision nodded.

"In big words, yes," Sam nodded.

"This is awful," Peter groaned.

"Peter?"

Peter turned around and saw Tony standing in the doorway, his expression sobering the room. "You made me promise you tell you right away."

Peter's smile fell and his heart stopped. He nodded and got off the couch, walking to meet Tony in silence, his hands shaking.

"Give us a second guys, ok?" Tony said. 

"Yeah," Wanda said gently. 

Peter followed Tony to the lab and sat down on the nearest stool, "Did FRIDAY find them?"

Tony pulled up the screen and nodded, slowly, "Yeah Peter, she did."

Peter broke into a smile, realizing Tony was kidding with his sad face, just trying to play him; FRIDAY found his parents. He grinned and let out an overjoyed laugh, his eyes gleaming, jumping in his seat, "Are you kidding me? So they're here? Where do they live? Tony, tell me- we need to find them-"

"You have Aunt and an Uncle. Ben and May. With an address in Queens," Tony said with a sad smile on his face.

"What? Oh my gosh Tony! Are you-" Peter whooped, "That's awesome! Ok, but my parents, where are my parents?" he asked excitedly.

"Kid, I-" Tony trailed off.

"What is it Tony, this is great!" Peter exclaimed, "I didn't think FRIDAY would find them, no offense, oh my gosh- this can't be happening, are you sure-"

"Yeah, I'm sure kid but-"

"Thank you Tony," Peter said sincerely, wondering why Tony was still keeping his act up. This was great news. He had a family. An actual family. A mom and a dad who loved him- who he was taken from. An aunt and uncle who was in the same state as him? It was the happiest moment of Peter's life, his heart pounding, his mind racing, a smile on his face, bigger than it had ever been-

But something wasn't right.

Peter cocked his head and smiled at Tony in question, "Tony, what's wrong?"

Tony had near tears in his eyes, "Peter, I'm sorry."

Peter's smile started to fade and he urged it to stay, faking it now, forcing himself to grin. "What? What are you sorry for?" His throat started to close up. Peter fidgeted in his seat.

"Richard and May Parker. Those were your parents names. Your DNA matches. Your father was a decorated solider of the United States Army Special Forces. He was recruited for the CIA. Your mother also worked for the CIA."

"Ok, so where are they now Tony?" Peter asked urgently.

"There- there was a plane crash Peter, during one of their missions. They..."

Peter's smile fell. His heart stopped. "No..."

He looked at Tony in desperation, his gaze wavering, begging him to backtrack and tell him this was all a lie. He shook his head, trying to smile, "this- this isn't happening. Maybe there's been some mistake? Tony, I-"

"Peter-"

He looked up at Tony with tears in his eyes, "No. Tony- no-"

"I'm so sorry kid, they didn't make it," Tony whispered. 

Peter bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut. He shook his head, lowering his chin to his chest, shaking. To have everything and for it to be taken away....

"No," he begged, looking at Tony through tears and shaking his head. "I-"

"I'm so sorry," Tony said again, his expression broken, horribly broken, just like Peter's. 

Everything was spinning. Peter couldn't see, his eyesight failing him, everything going fuzzy and then turning white. He clenched his fists and put his head in his hands, his shoulders heaving. He never cried. Never. But now he couldn't do anything- he couldn't stop it. Furiously he clenched his fists, trying to breath properly. His head was exploding with pain and Peter screamed. 

Suddenly arms wrapped around him and Peter held on, gripping Tony's jacket in his fists. Tears fell down Peter's cheeks and he cried, Tony placing a hand on his back. It wasn't a hug. Peter was glad it wasn't. But it was enough. 

And they sat there, Tony whispering words of encouragement and apologies, and then not saying anything at all. 

"May and Benjamin. We're gonna find them, ok?" Tony said after at least two minutes of silence.

"What if-" Peter said quietly, "what if they don't want me?"

"Shut up kid you're delirious," Tony grinned.

Peter smirked, squeezing his eyes shut and feeling a tear trickle down his cheek. "Parker," he said quietly.

"Parker," Tony repeated. "Peter Benjamin Parker. Middle name after your uncle. Your father's brother."

"Peter Benjamin Parker," Peter whispered to himself, a slight flicker of joy making him shudder. He was shaking, curling Tony's jacket tighter; the man didn't mind. "Peter Parker," Peter said and he smiled again, closing his eyes.

"It's a good name kid," Tony said ruffling his hair. 

"Yeah it is," Peter murmured happily. "Peter Parker..."

"You know what, maybe I shouldn't-" Peter said, turning around and starting to walk back down the hallway. Tony sighed, grabbed the back of his jacket and stopped him, pulling him back around to face the door. 

"Don't hit the button," Peter pleaded. 

"Doorbell. It's a doorbell," Tony corrected, motioning for the door.

Peter snarled, daringly, "Ok, well don't hit it."

"I'm hitting it," Tony said.

"No you're not."

"Yeah, you are. That's what they're made for."

"You're not hitting it," Peter repeated.

"What are we gonna do, stand out here?"

"Yes."

"No," Tony said firmly.

"Don't-" Peter gasped. Tony juked him out, jerking his hand and Peter jumped forward, "No- don't-"

"Gotcha," Tony winked.

"Just wait-" Peter pleaded.

"Ok, fine I'll wait. Wups- would you look at that?" Tony knocked on the door with his other hand, looking at Peter who glared at him. 

"Screw you," the kid said angrily, straightening his jacket and taking a deep breath. They waited and Peter stuttered, "You know maybe they aren't home. Maybe we should come back-"

The door opened and Peter froze. 

A man raised an eyebrow, his jaw dropping. "T-Tony- Stark? Stark? S-sir what can we do for you?"

"Hi," Tony flashed a smile, "Actually this isn't about me-" 

"Ben who is it-" May walked into the door frame, her eyes widening, "Oh my gosh! Do come in-"

"Peter," Tony shoved him forward gently. His heartbeat was pounding. His eyes were wide and he was staring at both of them, tears in his eyes, a small sad smile of disbelief on his face. He couldn't breathe. 

"Son, you okay?" Ben asked. 

"Yeah- yeah, hi- you probably don't remember me. It's been a while," Peter laughed lightly, choking and stuttering. He held out his hand and it was shaking. 

Ben and May stared at him. 

"Richard and Mary were my parents. Nine years ago I was taken by a group called HYDRA. But- I- I'm back now," he said weakly, a tear falling down his cheek. He wiped it angrily with his other fist. He was shaking, his throat closing, everything tunneling on him.

"What's your name kid?" Ben asked slowly.

"P-Peter Benjamin Pa-rker," Peter gulped. His chest was rising an falling rapidly and he blinked, his hand still extended. 

After a second, the man stared at him, taking a step closer. Peter tensed and stepped back, but Tony put a hand on his shoulder and the kid relaxed, stepping forward again. Ben put a hand up to cup Peter's cheek, looking at his eyes. 

"Peter?" May asked softly.

Peter smiled at her, "Y-yeah."

May pushed past Ben and stood in front of him, putting a hand to his cheek and sobbing, "You have your father's eyes."

Peter broke at that and May hugged him, clutching him tight. Peter stiffened but awkwardly hugged her back, tears streaming down his cheeks as he buried his face into his aunt's shoulder. They were crying and Tony stepped back, grinning; his job was done. 

Peter broke away from May and shook Ben's hand, before he was pulled into another hug. Peter turned his head to Tony and mouthed _'thank you'._

Tony winked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you thought, drop a comment of kudos, I love hearing from you guys :)  
> Stay tuned for the next one! What do you think is gonna happen now that May and Ben are in the picture????  
> I hope you liked it and thank you for all your support and for sticking with this, I rly appreciate it!  
> Have a wonderful day I love you all 3000 <3


	9. Trust is a Fragile Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII everyone :) I hope you are all enjoying your weekend and now you've got a new chapter so yayyyyy!!! lol  
> I AM SO SORRY this took a while so I made it an extra long one. I hope you enjoy it!!!! Thank you so so much for all your support I am again sorry for the wait- life took over ya know?  
> This one is not so much action but more support for the next couple of chaps, with a lot of cute moments in there from our fav duo. First sparks of true irondad in this one.  
> Enjoy!!! <3

"He's leaving Pepper," Tony said quietly, rubbing his head while flipping a wrench between his fingers. "I should have seen this coming, I mean, I found the kid his family, I wouldn't stay either. He's got a life now, a home, an aunt and uncle who love him, what was I thinking?"

"Tony, he's not gonna drop everything you both went through this past week," Pepper rubbed his arm, drinking coffee by his work bench. “Moving to his aunt and uncles doesn’t mean he’s gone for good.”

Tony nodded thoughtfully, not really hearing her and then he drummed his fingers on the table, "You know I was actually serious about making him an Avenger? If he wanted to, of course. I mean, obviously not for a while, maybe when he was older."

"Really?" Pepper asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I just have a feeling-" Tony trailed off, "He's been a captive for nine years, using his powers for tests and to involuntarily help the bad guys. I just feel like he's gonna want to _fight_ them once in a while. And since it's probably not gonna be with the Avengers, I have no doubt he'll start doing it as a side job. He'll probably try and keep it from me too."

"You mean as a vigilante?" Pepper nodded.

"Well he won't know that's what he is," Tony reasoned, "but yeah. I just don't want him to get hurt doing it. He's a good kid, he wants to help people. I thought I could...you know, I thought if he..."

"You have helped him a lot Tony," Pepper nodded, setting down her cup. "I mean, you did save him."

"You kidding me?" Tony laughed lightly, "He saved me." He rubbed a hand over his face and shrugged, "I'm just worried about him. And kill me, for saying this, but I thought- if we didn't find his family, maybe, maybe he could stay here? A long shot, I know- I just...thought it would be cool."

Pepper smirked. "Why don't you adopt him while you're at it?" she teased, patting his arm as she stood to cross the room.

Tony grinned and shot her look over his shoulder, "That's enough from you. You're serious? That brat would be grounded every day. Besides, he and I butt heads too much. He's obnoxious."

"Uh huh," Pepper started to smile, shaking her head slightly.

"What's uh huh? We have a mutual hate relationship. I barely even like the kid. We just tolerate each other. I'm simply trying to just help him out," he protested.

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say."

Tony twisted in his seat, "Woah, that was dripping with sarcasm and that's my thing."

"Come on Tony, I know the kid meant a lot to you. You had a great relationship with him. And by the way?" Pepper grinned, sitting down to a computer, "you were the only one he let call him Pete."

"What? No I wasn't," Tony scoffed, spinning the wrench on his thumb. 

"FRIDAY?" Pepper sighed without even turning around.

_"She is correct sir. Peter corrected everyone else but you."_

"See?" Pepper smiled.

_"I can pull up recorded audio files if you would like."_

"Whatever," Tony waved his hand. "How do you notice this stuff? All I'm saying is I just don't want him to lose touch. He's a genius, the kid needs to go to college but to do that he's gotta get through high school first. What if he uses his powers? What if people find out about him? I'm not the Men In Black there's only so much I could do."

"Who says it's your responsibility?" Pepper asked.

"Me," Tony said firmly. "He's my responsibility." 

"Oh is he?" Pepper called lightly over her shoulder, her delicate fingers typing on the computer in a steady rhythm.

"Yes," Tony confirmed, more sure of himself. 

"He's not going to cut you out Tony, I can promise you that," Pepper assured him, plugging a thumb drive into the computer.

Tony nodded slowly, "How do you know?"

Pepper turned in her chair, "Because of how you two interact with each other. He trusts you Tony, you're pretty much the only one he trusts. Just the way you talked together, acted around another- you two blew up the lab two days after meeting one other, I'd say that something."

"It was more than 2 days-" Tony protested.

"Tony!" Pepper laughed, exasperated. 

"Ok, ok," he put up his hands, and then spoke quickly, "but you can't tell me you're not worried about him when it comes to school. The kid's lucky it hasn't started yet. He's got what, like a week? He can start fresh this year, but I'm not only talking about the transition into high school. He went through a lot and I just don't think it's the best environment for him right now. I can't believe he's starting." 

Pepper nodded slowly, "You got me there. But it was his choice. May and Ben offered for him to start later."

"Yeah, but what about his powers? I mean, the kid's smart enough to know not to use them. But what if he has a panic attack? Or hurts someone by accident? Teenage kids are bullies, Peter doesn't even have to start a fight, they'll start it for him."

Pepper shook her head, "I- I don't know Tony."

Tony leaned back in his seat, finally setting down his wrench and taking a sip of Pepper's coffee, "I've at least got to talk to him when he comes back to pick up his stuff. He asked to keep that sweatshirt and- is this decaf? Weak."

"Talk to him," Pepper said simply, typing something on the computer before logging off and taking out her thumb drive. "You're good at talking."

Tony raised an eyebrow as she walked past, "Was that a jab?" 

"Of course not honey," she smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be in my office. Lunch at twelve with the team remember, I'll see you then. I don't want to have to come drag you up because you forget."

"I'll be there," Tony grinned and watched her walk towards the door before he spun to face her and quickly blurted out, "He's got a family Pepper."

Pepper, who knew exactly what Tony meant and heard the guilty disappointment in his voice smiled gently, "He's got two of those ." Then she winked and drummed her knuckle on the wall by the door, "Twelve. Love you."

"Love you too," he called after her as she disappeared around the corner. Then he got up, flicking the wrench through his fingers and pondering. He rubbed his head, pacing the room. 

_"I believe you're thinking of doing something sir,_ " FRIDAY said cautiously. 

"Yeah I am..." Tony said slowly, walking over to the nearest screen and tossing some data around. "Do me a favor, start a new project."

_"Item 17 A started."_

"You're welcome here anytime Peter," Steve shook his hand. They had all met in the lobby downstairs after Peter called saying he was dropping by to pick up his things. He had stayed the night at his Aunt and Uncle's apartment for the first time. It was just on the couch until they bought a bed. It was...weird. But nice, knowing he was with people who had the same last name as him. 

They didn't really talk much about his family, or anything at all really. Peter was just happy to be there and they were happy to have him. Peter and noticed Tony had slipped a way and he told his story of how he got out and how he had stayed at the Avengers compound. He stayed away from telling them about HYDRA, and his powers. It would be easier that way. 

"You guys act like you're giving me a court-marshal. So formal," Peter grinned, feeling more slightly at ease with the group. It was a shame he was leaving when he was just getting to know him. He felt like it shouldn't hurt...but it did. He knew he was going to his real family, but the Avengers already felt part of him. 

"That's the man way of saying that we won't be seeing you around as often," Natasha rolled her eyes. 

"And we'll miss you," Wanda concluded with a smile.

"Well...thanks," Peter grinned awkwardly. 

Sam laughed at his awkwardness and Peter didn't mind. "Well we're happy you found your family kid," he said. "Glad we could help."

"Like Steve said, our doors are open. We still gotta have that race with Cap remember?" Clint winked.

"And how about an arm wrestle with Clint?" Steve shot back, narrowing his eyes. 

Clint snorted, "Oh no, that's not a question I need answered."

Peter smiled, nodding to Bucky who shook his hand as well. "If you need to talk," the man said, and Peter felt the most uncomfortable with him, because they were too similar. They had both seen HYDRA...what they were capable of. Peter knew the look. He saw it on Bucky, but worse, Bucky saw it on him. His eyes stared deeper, almost knowingly. "Rhodey and I...we have some experience in that field," the man nodded. 

"Call us anytime Peter," Rhodey nodded. "Keeping everything to yourself isn't always the best thing."

Peter faked a smile and nodded, avoiding eye contact with Bucky who would catch him for lying, "Thanks but I-I'm good. I swear." He wasn't. But he never would be, so what was the use? It was still weird having people actually...care about him. 

Vision gave him a nod and a small smile, which shocked Peter a bit because he hadn't seen the android smile. He was still confused on what Vision....was. But he did know he and Wanda had a thing. Well, he was at least 99% sure.

The crowd of Avengers who had engaged in teasing banter and talk about upcoming trips and meetings became background noise as Peter gently slipped between them to get out of the mob and meet the man standing by the hallway with his hands in his pockets. 

"Hey Parker."

"Hey," Peter said before smirking. "I thought you were an extrovert," he teased.

"And I thought you were an annoying teenager, oh wait you are," Tony shot back. Peter grinned, knowing he was kidding. Tony turned and took a deep breath, looking over his shoulder, "You want a cheeseburger? I want a cheeseburger. Let's go."

They walked to the cafe, and Tony handed him two after getting one for himself. Peter followed him down the hall, and they passed the elevator just as it opened, a worker coming out of it. He held the door for them.

"Going up sir?"

"No, we're good thanks," Tony smiled, walking down the hallway and opening the door to the stairs. Peter knit his brow at that but then realized he was standing still.

"You better hurry up or I will shut this door on your foot," Tony joked, holding it open for him. Peter slipped through, taking a bite out of his burger. They walked up the stairs in silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was...Peter didn't know what it was or why he was feeling....nostalgic. Maybe because he was leaving the one place that took up most of his memory since getting out. 

"So school huh?" Tony asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts and into new ones. More stressful ones.

Peter nodded slowly, "Yeah, I mean, what else am I gonna do, right? Sit around and twiddle my thumbs? So I- I might as well."

"You okay with it?" Tony asked, eyeing him nervously. 

Peter took a deep breath, "Yeah...I mean, obviously I can't use my powers-"

"I mean mentally," Tony blurted out, and Peter winced.

Truth be told, it scared him, knowing he could have a panic attack at any time, or freak out. He'd take it the school wouldn't be as forgiving as Tony was if he shattered a mirror or wall. 

"So all that stuff from the HYDRA base," he continued, hoping Tony somehow lost the previous topic in the period of silence he left. "Is it useful?"

"Yeah, I don't really know the equipment all that well...the 1980's want their tech back, so I gotta dust off some oldies, but it's...promising," Tony admitted. They rounded the corner and Peter opened the door to his room, Tony flicking on the light. 

"Take anything you need kid. I'm serious," Tony said, leaning against the door frame. 

"Thanks," Peter said, grabbing the sweatshirt he wore when he first arrived. "May and Ben are taking me shopping later. We're gonna get a bunch of stuff, I should be good."

"Just, if you need anything," Tony started.

"I know, I know," Peter laughed. "Thanks."

Tony shrugged. "Be careful kid, ok? And your powers...don't fear them. They make you who you are Peter, don't forget that."

"I want to...start over, you know?" Peter said, sitting down on his bed. He set his second cheeseburger down, suddenly not hungry. Tony walked over and took a seat on the chair by the desk, facing him. "I've had these powers ever since I can remember. I mean, being a kid, I don't- it's fuzzy- but I was a nerd," he laughed to himself. "May told me all about what a dork I was."

"Nothing's changed, don't worry," Tony assured him stone faced; he broke when Peter scoffed. 

"Shut up," he directed with a smile, clasping his fingers and laying his forearms on his knees. "I just-" he looked down, "I was me, before HYDRA happened. Then I got these powers and they changed me. For as long as I can clearly remember I've had them. I-I was tortured, and beaten down..." he trailed off.

"To have a shot at this- I don't want to screw it up," he said quietly. "I mean, I'm gonna have to do homework now, I get to watch TV on weeknights and- and study!" He couldn't help the excitement in his voice, "I can build things that I want, not for some German guy who would make me scream every time I mess up. And- and yeah," he laughs lightly, ruffling his own hair. "I would love to play football, but I probably couldn't then, so I- I shouldn't now."

"Because you're different," Tony nodded. 

"Exactly," Peter nodded. "I'm just scared. I finally get a shot at a normal life, I finally get a chance and...I don't know what to do with it. Ever since I got out...things have gone well and- and I'm not used to things going well," he tried to laugh and it came out as sort of a sob. 

"Peter," Tony tried. 

"I finally got what I've dreamed of, what I thought I would never have, and somehow I know i'm gonna be the one that screws it all up," Peter said firmly. 

"Alright you Debbie Downer, you listen to me," Tony said with a hint of anger in his voice that made Peter square up defensively, but break down once he saw the man's expression. "If you worry about every single step you take in life, try and calculate the angle and the mass and force and pull needed to do everything perfectly, that will tear you apart. If you stress about the probability and risk of taking this jump and hold yourself back afraid of what's to come, that will be what breaks you."

Tony leaned back and crossed his arms, "Now I love math but that's stupidity. You have your whole future ahead of you Peter, do what you want, go to high school, find out what you want to do, be yourself. But don't degrade yourself. That's HYDRA talking kid."

"It's not easy to forget-" Peter said stubbornly, anger heating up his chest. It's not that simple. 

Tony shook his head, "I know it's not, trust me I know."

"How-"

"Afghanistan kid," Tony said, his voice laced with fury, but still calm. 

Peter looked at him intently, seeing his hands curl on his jeans, a gesture Peter recognized as his own. The look in his eyes was the same look Bucky wore, the same look he wore sometimes, but it was well hidden. 

"We had been testing a new missile. The Jericho missile in Afghanistan. Rhodey was there but we went in separate trucks. Everything was good until the car in front of us exploded. I watched the men in charge of protecting me shot dead, dropping to the ground with blood soaking through their uniforrms from bullet holes, the windows shattering, my entire world being shot up around me."

Tony's voice was calm and collected, but Peter knew it was shaking in his mind. "I got out, walked not even twenty feet and a bomb fell, one of my bombs, blew me back and buried shrapnel in my chest. When I woke up I was in a cave, there was a bag over my head and my hands were tied. I was in front of a video camera. Of course," he shrugged, taking a breath. "I didn't know it then but it was sent to my mentor back home, the one who paid to have me killed."

Tony rubbed his chin, "That video recording went on for hours as they tortured me, until finally I lost conciousness. When I woke up I was attached to a car battery. An electromagnet was buried in my chest, stopping the pieces of shrapnel from entering my heart. Three inch hole, right here," he tapped his chest, "with a bright round circle in the center. They wanted me to build the missile for them. When I refused they tortured me."

Tony leaned forward and lowered his voice, "Peter I was only there for three months. I know you were in there for years so I have no idea what you went through. But I know torture. I I know what it's like. It's not something you forget. You say you're fine, but you're not. Whenever you close your eyes it's like your back there, no matter how much time passes. You remember everything, what you felt, what you smelled, tasted, saw. It gets inside you, under your skin and you can't get rid of it."

There was a lump in Peter's throat and he broke Tony's eye contact looking down. His hands were shaking and he clenched them hard. 

"But kid, don't fear your past, own it. The things that I went through made me who I am, it's the reason I built the first iron man suit, it's the reason why I'm iron man today. If I hadn't gone to Afghanistan, I wouldn't have met you, or the team, maybe wouldn't have gotten with Pepper, who knows- but that is not the story I wanted to tell and I'm glad that's not the one I have to. I've made mistakes, we all have. We've all hurt people, intentionally and unintentionally. The human side of us is the best and worst part all together."

He made eye contact with him and spoke slowly, "We're all afraid of our demons Peter, they haunt us just like they haunt everybody. But whether they control us is up to us."

They sat in silence for a little bit. Peter was shaking, Tony's words echoing in his ears. He relaxed his hands and took a deep breath for the first time in the while, looking up in appreciation. But of course he couldn't tell Tony that. He wasn't raised that way, that wasn't his personality. So he resorted to humor. As always.

"You rehearse that?" Peter said weakly, licking his lips. 

"You asked for the TED talk, you got the TED talk," Tony said, clasping the arms of the chair and pushing himself to the feet. "I can never get those two minutes back."

"Neither can I," Peter grinned. 

"You get my point?" Tony asked. 

Peter stood as well, nodding professionally, "How could I not? We got the Fidel Castro speech over here."

"How did you know that was the longest speech to ever be recorded?" Tony raised an eyebrow. 

"Four hours and twenty nine minutes. How did you know?" Peter countered.

"Nu uh, I asked first," Tony said as he stepped into the hallway after Peter. 

"That's not how that works," Peter protested, closing his door behind him.

"Oh yeah? My house my rules," Tony grinned.

"You learn a lot of weird stuff at HYDRA base, you should visit sometime," Peter slurred sarcastically. 

"They have the rudest teenagers there," Tony shook his head. 

"I have a question," Peter suddenly asked. 

"Shoot," Tony leaned against the wall, putting a hand in his pocket. 

"We took the stairs up here, not the elevator," Peter said. 

_"Kid, you ok?" Tony pushed the elevator button and the doors opened with a dig. Peter flinched at that._

_"Can we-" Peter gulped, his hand curling his shirt in a fist, "can we- take the stairs?"_

_Tony immediately nodded but Peter saw that out of his peripheral vision. His gaze was on the elevator, unable to look away._

_The squeaky wheels of the turning gears snapped Peter back to the base. He was limp between two guards, his hands cuffed in front of him, his head hanging. He knew where he was going. Cell 7. Peter started shaking at the same spot every time. He rubbed his toe against the rough ground in the same spot; it was a different, smoother shade of dirty brown. Peter licked his chapped lips and raised his head as the elevator darkened, the white lights turning red as they descended._

_"Hey," Tony grabbed Peter's shoulders, turning him, but still Peter couldn't snap out of it. He begged Tony to get through to him- he just needed-_

_And then Tony's voice rang out clearly, breaking through the sound proofed walls and the cold air and the smell of blood. "You're not back in that place. You got out. You're here now. Remember that."_

_Peter blinked, the image fading slightly, his screams echoing in his ears as he flinched and slightly moved his head, wincing to get rid of it. The elevator in front of him was still the grimy old rusty one, with muffled screams coming from behind the door. He then gulped and nodded firmly, selfconsciously bringing his arm over to press on a cut on the top of his hand. He pushed hard, feeling blood on his fingers and the image started to fade._

_It was different pain. Come on Peter. Snap out of it. Just as he was about to get rid of the image,_ _Tony grabbed his wrist, "Woah, hey-"_

_"It keeps me grounded," Peter said quickly in a small voice he hated himself for using, his hands shaking and clenching. "It's different here. Not like in there. I- I can't explain it." He pushed again and the elevator flickered again in his mind. Tony obviously didn't want to push him but he nodded and then motioned for the hallway._

_Peter focuses and the old rusty elevator vanishes. He takes a deep breath as it returns to the shiny metal one. Just then_ _it dings and closes, making Peter flinch against his will._

_"Come on Pete," Tony says gently. "Stairs."_

Peter snapped himself out of his memory just in time to hear Tony slur, "Wow, look at Sherlock over here. Yes, we used the stairs."

Peter's brow knit, "Who- who's Sherlock?"

"No one," Tony rolled his eyes. "Your point?"

"Thanks for...for remembering," Peter said slowly. 

There was a pause and Peter saw the look in Tony's eyes. He knew exactly what he was talking about, but instead Tony made a _'pshhh'_ sound and quickly stammered, "It was just for cardio Peter, don't worry about it. I take that elevator every day, bout' time I walked the steps don't you think?" Tony lied, sniffing and crossing his arms. 

"Oh," Peter said simply, not knowing what else to say. He knew Tony was lying. He knew what Peter was talking about, otherwise he would have asked what he meant about remembering. Peter could feel Tony looking at him but he kept his mouth shut, waiting.

"You're welcome kid," Tony finally gave in and from his tone Peter suddenly realized Tony had been afraid to admit it, just as Peter had been afraid to say thank you earlier. Peter smirked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He scratched the back of his head and raised his chin as Tony turned to gaze down the hallway. 

"Well I should-" Peter pointed to the steps behind him, shifting his weight from foot too foot, "And you probably have stuff-" 

"Yea I should- stuff to do, yes," Tony stuttered to finish, their gazes snapping back to one another.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter straightened.

Tony nodded, clearing his throat, "Yes, Mr. Parker, very well."

"I-I mean it," Peter said sincerely. 

"Don't get all sappy on me," Tony rolled his eyes.

"You know what?" Peter scoffed, "Screw you." Tony grinned and they clasped hands. Peter shrugged and he too cleared his throat, "I guess I'll...see you around sometime."

"Yeah kid," Tony shook his hand firmly before he waved him down the hall. "Ok, now skedaddle there, young buck."

Peter grinned and turned, walking down the hallway and taking one last look at Tony who had an amused look of cockiness on his face as he rounded the corner and went to go find May who was waiting downstairs. 

**1 Week Later**

Peter surprisingly found his way to school. Memory had been a needed skill in the HYDRA base; you were punished if you didn't follow instrtcions- well uyou were even punished if you did. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch.

It had been 2 hours since rolled over on the floor, the blanket up to his chin. Ben and May had cleared out the spare room they had and gotten Peter a bed, but he wasn't quiet ready to transition to that just yet; the floor was still more comfortable. He looked at his clock that had big red numbers on it and it said 6:43. A whole hour of sleep in total, he predicted, based on how his night went. Better than usual. Peter went over to the closet and grabbed a shirt that he had found funny and slipped it on, laughing at the science joke again. It read 'I lost an electron, are you positive?' He grabbed a thin jacket and slipped that on as well, yanking on some jeans. He grabbed a comb and straightened his hair as best as he could, finishing up in the bathroom before walking out into the kitchen. 

After saying goodbye to Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and assuring them yes he would be ok, and yes he was ready, and yes he had what he needed, and yes he was fine, and yes, lying to them, he headed out, tucking his key into his backpack. Peter got on the connecting trains, walked the blocks, and finally arrived at the front of the school. 

It was bigger than he thought it would be, with a massive football field in the center of it. He walked slowly up the steps, being jostled by people moving faster than him and Peter soon found the safest spot was not the middle, but the rails. 

He walked in, slipping through a closing door and pushed his way through the crowd, his senses spiraling from all of the sounds and shouts echoing in the room. They weighed down on him and Peter winced slightly, needing something to focus on. He wasn't watching where he was going and suddenly he bumped into someone, his spider senses picking up anything so they didn't warn him. 

He straightened in fear. "I'm sorry I-"

The boy he bumped into grinned and waved him off, "No worries. Hey, you look lost. You new?"

"Yeah," Peter said nervously, fingering his backpack strap.

"Cool!" The boy smiled again. He was much bigger than Peter, but he had a young face, black hair, and dimples when he smiled. Peter had about a half an inch on him, but he still was intimidated and cautious about someone approaching him so fast. The teen held out his hand, "I'm Ned by the way."

"Peter," Peter said slowly, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "Parker." Still so weird having a last name. He felt good saying it.

"What a grip, man, you play sports?" Ned laughed. 

Peter blushed, "No- I- uh I'm more of a science guy."

"No way!" Ned's eyes widened and he punched Peter's arm. "Me too!"

Peter was _so close_ to punching him back but he composed himself, realizing it wasn't an attack but more of a friendly gesture. Ned's voice snapped him out of his thoughts as the boy adjusted his jacket and pulled Peter's arm to look at the schedule he was holding in his fists. 

"Let me see. Hey, we've got some classes. Come on, I'll take you to the office. First period doesn't start for another 10 minutes. Do you like Star Wars? I love Star Wars. The new one is coming out soon and I am so excited. I also build lego star wars sets, I'm trying to get a Death Star. It's a lot of pieces. Chemistry is my favorite subject, what's yours?"

"I- I was homeschooled, so it's- a lot different," Peter lied. 

"Ohhh, dude that's so cool. I wish I was homeschooled- actually, no I don't. I could not handle my mom being my teacher. Did your mom teach you?"

Peter looked down awkwardly, "Both of my parents died when I was little. I live with my Aunt and Uncle now."

Ned's face fell and he backtracked, embarrassed. "Oh I'm sorry man, I didn't mean to bring it up. Now you're gonna think I'm a bad person- I'm sorry, I swear I'm not-"

Peter grinned and shook his head, "It's ok. You didn't know. But yeah I love chemistry. And physics."

Ned's smile returned and his eyes widened as he looked back at Peter while leading him through the crowd. "Me too! They have a bunch of cool stuff here, a lot of labs, some welding stations, engineering rooms- all kinds of stuff. You have to be really smart to get in here, but I guess you already know that. Well here we are. Hi Principle Morita!"

"Mr. Leeds, good to see you. And who is this?"

"Peter," Peter stuck out his hand. "Peter Parker sir."

The principle smiled and shook his hand before whistling, "Good grip son." Ned nudged him. "I take it you're our new student?"

"Yes," Peter nodded, before adding, "sir." 

"Ned, would you mind showing Peter around today? You both have the same first block and I will be notifying teachers that you may be tardy in regards to showing Peter where to go," Mr. Morita said. Ned beamed and nodded vigorously. The principle turned to Peter and smiled, "If you have any questions Peter, don't be afraid to ask. It's the first day so everyone is new here. Welcome to Midtown High."

"Thank you sir," Peter nodded. Ned grabbed his sleeve and tugged him towards the door. 

"Ok, recap. This is the main entrance. Down that hallway is library, auditorium, and counselors, down that way is both gyms and the cafeteria. Down there is the wrestling room and engineering rooms I was telling you about and then just some study hall areas. Upstairs is where all are our classes are, come on, I'll show you."

Peter quickly walked forward, processing all the information and repeating it in his mind, his heartbeat quickening. He followed Ned up the stairs and the boy pointed, "English hallway, math hallway, science hallway. Your locker should be down the math hallway, evens are on left and odds are on right. It's on the top corner of your schedule. You're with me for first block with Mrs. Warren. Some people say she's harsh, others say she's nice. I think she's nice if you pay attention. It's when you zone out is when she can get a little strict, although one of my friends said that she lost someone's homework and gave him an F. I don't think that's fair-"

Ned talked. A lot. Way too much. Peter was astonished that someone could ramble off that much in less than ten minutes. The one time he did shut up was not for the best reason though. Ned had gotten through the first seven teachers and was going onto the eighth when suddenly a basketball hit him in the back, making him stumble. 

Peter had seen it coming but hadn't really known what to do. He turned and saw a group of boys walking towards them, the one in the front catching the ball that had bounced off Ned's backpack. 

"Watch where you're going," the boy in the middle hissed. 

"How was your summer Flash?" Ned grumbled. Peter could instantly read all of them. Ned hated the guy. But more importantly, he was intimidated by him, and he was scared. Flash on the other hand, was a bully. Cocky, arrogant, but all brawn, no brain. Like his goons behind him, who were his muscle, but were only good in a pack. If they were separated, they were wusses. 

"Did I say you could talk to me like that?" Flash sneered. "You think we're friends?"

"Hey, easy," Peter stepped in with a dangerous expression. 

"Woah! Leeds made a friend," Flash said and he suddenly threw the ball right at Peter's face. Peter's hand whipped up and he caught it with one hand, before lowering it and examining it. Flash was shocked.

"Good throw," Peter remarked. People in the hallway stopped. Flash looked pissed but he attempted to cover it up with a smug grin. "What's your name new kid?"

"Peter Parker," he said firmly, handing the ball back to Flash with a cold gaze. He slammed it into Flash's hand, making the bully stumble before he forcefully straightened, taking back his ball.

"Alright Parker. You're not bad," Flash said slowly, looking Peter over. He stood defiantly, watching the bullies every move before the kid finally nodded and turned to walk away with his buddies. 

"Thanks," Ned said quietly, catching up to him as Peter continued walking, not really knowing which way to go. 

"Who was that?" Peter asked calmly. 

"Flash. Bully. Only got in because his dad pulls strings," Ned grumbles. 

"He's a coward," Peter said firmly, his eyes set straight ahead. 

"You don't want to hang with them," Ned assured him. Peter glanced behind him. 

Seeing the way Ned was acting, Peter sighed, rolling his eyes to himself before he forced a smile and nudged Ned slightly. "So what did Mr. Harrison do? Someone died on a field trip of his?"

Ned's face lit up once again and he grinned, pushing open the door, "Come on, sit down, then I'll tell you."

"May, I'm home!" Peter called, unlocking the door and pushing it open. He was greeted by a hug and he put on a smile, still not used to this, but willing to fake it for the only family he had. 

"Peter!" she cupped his cheek and gave him a hug. "Tell me about your day. You want something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry," Peter shrugged. "It wasn't bad." He set down his backpack, "A little weird. I've never been to a...school. But I'm excited for chemistry and physics. I made a friend."

"I'm proud of you Peter," May smiled. 

"Thanks May," Peter said, sinking down onto the couch. He saw a picture on the table that he was sure wasn't there earlier. May must have found it and brought it out. He picked it up, "Is this mom and dad?"

May came over and rubbed his back, "That was the day your father asked your mother to marry him. He was so happy. He has your eyes Peter. I found that in the attic and I just had to show you."

"Were they...happy?" Peter asked. "With what they did? Their jobs, I mean."

"Yes," May nodded with tears in her eyes. 

"Is that why they left me?" Peter said in confusion.

"They left you to protect you. They died protecting you. They loved you so much Peter, more than you know. And when HYDRA..." May trailed off. "That's why I'm so happy you're here. We thought we lost you Peter, and now that you're back..." she rubbed his knee. "I know this is weird honey, and I know you barely know us, don't remember us- but this is your home. And the door will always be open. Family is something everyone deserves," May said softly. 

"When Tony told me about mom and dad I lost it," he admitted. "But then when he told me about you guys it, it gave me...hope. Something I'd never thought I would have anymore. You know his lab is amazing?"

"Oh really?" May asked, intrigued. "Tell me about it, you haven't really mentioned it much since you left?"

A newfound excitement resurfaced and fueled his happiness as he recounted the highlights of his stay at the Avengers compound for May in a frenzy, "I helped him out a bit with some new prototypes he was working on? You should see his suits May, they're amazing. We blew up one of them because the compressor snapped and he went flying back like halfway across the room. He made all of his tech, did you know that? He's genius. And also he gave me my first cheeseburger, which are close to the best thing on the planet. The Avengers are all nice too, they joke around a lot, but when it comes down to it, they mean business. They're great and Tony's fiance- well almost fiance, Pepper, she's great too. They've been dating for a long time and are basically married, he just hasn't asked her yet. Tony needs me to back him up though, he's waiting for the right time to do it. He's good like that. He always has a comeback, and he's almost always sarcastic, which can be taken the wrong way if you don't know him well..."

He looked at May who was staring at him with tears in her eyes and a small smile on her face. 

"What?" Peter asked slowly. 

"This whole week I've never seen you so excited."

"Well I- I love that place. I love them. And I haven't talked to Tony in a week..." he trailed off and knit his eyebrows, a weird feeling in his stomach. Then he straightened in realization. He had been so caught up in his new world, he thought he had to cut the other out. He realized he had cut them out, basically. But he didn't need to. Peter's chest suddenly grew tight. He hadn't talked to Tony in a week. Why? Because he was so afraid of screwing this up, that he had been pushing everything else away.

People that cared about him, pushed away because Peter wasn't strong enough. Especially Tony, who took him in, the first person he trusted, who found his family, who just wanted him happy. What was wrong with him?

Tony was the closest thing Peter had- Ross knew exactly how to get to Peter because he had let his guard down. But maybe Peter didn't have to keep his guard up anymore, at least not around family. And Ben and May weren't the only family he had. He realized that now. He didn't have to chose, why did he ever think he did? 

Especially with Tony. Tony. He needed to- Peter couldn't stop himself. He subconsciously looked at the door.

May smirked and handed him his phone on the counter. "Go Peter." He looked at May, almost asking her what to do and she nodded with a smile. "I've never seen you so happy. I was wondering when you wanted to go back in visit, not sure if I should have brought it up. When Tony brought you here Peter...he cares about you. And you care about him. Just because we came into your life doesn't mean you have to give up what you had."

Peter grinned, "I'll text you. Tell Uncle Ben I'm sorry- I have to-"

"I know Peter, go," she waved him off happily. 

Peter smiled and shut the door behind him. He made sure no one was watching before he opened the window and jumped off the railing, swinging down into the alley and running to the street to catch a cab. 

"Tony, you okay?" Nat asked. 

Tony snapped is head up, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip, "Yeah, why?"

She shrugged, wiping her hands after finishing her sandwich, "You've been...down for a bit. Ever since Peter left." She moved aside the files they had been talking about. A good portion of the team was fixing up some Ross business at a conference in DC. Natasha, Clint, and Sam stayed behind to get done some personal things. Clint had to fix the jet, Sam had a meeting with Air Force Recruits, and Natasha said she just hated politics, but Pepper was away at a Stark Industries conference, and Tony was 99% sure she asked Nat to keep an eye on him.

"I'm fine," he said.

"Look, you miss him. We all do," Nat raised an eyebrow. 

"I don't miss him," Tony scowled, "Why would you think I miss him?"

"Because you're a terrible liar," Natasha drawled. 

"She's right. As a father, I know the dad look-" Clint called as he walked past the kitchen, snagging a bag of chips. 

"I can kick you off this team," Tony threatened over his shoulder with a grumble. He looked down. "Today was his first day of school. I thought he would have called. Told me- us how it went."

Natasha smirked, and held back on the sarcastic comment. Tony continued anyway, "I don't blame the kid. He's happy. He's got a family. I wouldn't want to leave that either."

"Tony it's only been a week," Natasha said.

"Don't tell me you're thinking it's not a possibility. You know our life isn't all unicorns and rainbows. He got a taste of the crap that goes on, he was offered an out and he took it. There's no way you're not slightly considering the possibility that he did the smart thing. The thing I would have done at his age. And you too."

Natasha clearly couldn't argue with that. But still she shook her head, "Whatever. That kid was practically glued to you."

"Ok, yeah," Tony admitted. "Because I was the one who found him and we almost died together. So yeah, I would say a near death experience results in a pretty solid bond. Nothing special."

"Nothing special, did you even watch the security tapes from when Ross broke in? He used you to get to Peter and it worked. Don't tell me it was nothing special," Natasha said drumming her finger on the table and grabbing his cup of coffee as he made a weak grab for it. She wagged her finger, pouring it into the sink.

"What you need, is sleep. Go. Now. Take a nap," she pointed. "Pepper's orders."

"You and Pepper plotting to get me to take care of myself now? That's a new level," he remarked.

"Yeah whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Go."

"Wait so you tricked me? You didn't want to talk to me, you were just doing Potts bidding?" Tony said, getting up as she started pushing him towards the hallway.

"You of all people know when Pepper asks you to do something, you do it," Nat teased. 

Tony put his hands up in surrender and walked down the hallway to his room and then went the other way to his office. He sank down into a chair, rubbing his head. Squinting at the clock which read 4:16 he leaned back, crossing his arms. "FRIDAY? Pull up security tapes please. From the date Ross broke in."

_"Will do sir. Puling files now. Playing..."_

**PRESS A TO CONTINUE...**

**LOADING...**

_"I won't miss,"_ Peter promises. He's standing in the center of the room with a gun pointed at one of Ross' men. He's got a guard in a headlock, and his gaze is fierce. 

"Skip," Tony says. 

_"Yeah, you don't want to do that Peter."_ The man's lip curled and Peter faltered slightly. 

_"Oh yeah?"_ he snarls. _"And why is that?"_ Peter tightens his grip on the gun. Tony sees the man drag him out into the center of the room, right in front of Peter who's expression crumples. He's unconscious and there's a long cut on the side of his head. He looks helpless and vulnerable and meanwhile his kid has 6 guns on him, fighting for his life-

 _"Tony?"_ Peter practically whimpers his name and Tony's hands clench, his chest heating up. The kid's expression suddenly turns angry, and there's a certain panic in him. Tony can see Peter plans to lie- he can tell by the way he curled his fist, licked his lips and straightened with effort, staged and forceful. 

_"Look, I barely know him, just let him go."_

"Skip," Tony said again.

_"You have no leverage here. You really want to shoot me with that thing, go ahead. My men can still finish the job with Stark."_

_"You won't kill him,"_ Peter said firmly, with a hint of uncertainty. It was more of a plea than a dare. 

_"No,"_ the man admitted, _"but...a bullet wound in the right spot is very, what's a good word...debilitating,"_ Tony watches as the man grabs his chin and lifts his head, letting it loll in his palm before letting him slump back down. Anger builds in his chest and he sees it displayed on Peter's face.

 _"Don't touch him,"_ Peter snaps instantly, his eyes flashing.

"Skip," Tony says weakly.

 _"I'll give you to three,"_ the man says calmly, twisting his fingers into Tony's shirt as he presses the gun harder against his shoulder. Peter winces as he watches the pressure being applied. Tony's arm started hurting in memory. _"One."_

"Don't do it kid," Tony urges. "Don't drop it. Call his bluff Pete." Peter hesitates, his gun dipping. There's an unmistakable click.

The man grins, _"Three."_

 _"NO!"_ Peter drops the gun furiously, harshly pushing the man away from him, breathing hard.

Tony yells a curse, slamming his fist down on the table before he miserably says, "Skip," he said angrily.

The leader who had the gun on him previously directs the men holding Peter up, _"Boss is in the other room. Take him there. You two, deal with Stark."_

The two men grab Tony's arms and start to drag him down the opposite hallway. Tony watches as the kid, despite being restrained and sedated, twists in horror, fighting in the men's grasp, looking behind him as he's dragged past Tony, _"Wait- stop- no! What are you gonna do to him-"_

Tony doesn't hear the last sentence, all he can hear is Peter screaming as the teenager digs his heels into the ground as he's dragged down the opposite hall. _"No- wait- what are you gonna do with him- no!"_

FRIDAY skips forward. 

Peter grits his teeth, _"What are you doing to him?"_

 _"That's confidential,"_ Ross smirks. _"Of course I can't kill-"_

 _"You hurt him and I swear to God,"_ Peter warns, moving forward just slightly. His hands are cuffed and Peter's in pain. Tony's fists clench knowing he let this happen. 

The man sighs, narrowing his eyes at Peter, _"It's pathetic really. Your relationship with Stark. Latching on to the first person you meet. That's what you did Peter, don't deny it. He took you in, that's new to you isn't it?"_

_"He's like the father you never had."_

_"Shut up,"_ Peter hissed. His glare was fierce and he thrashed around defensively. The scene skips again. _"Where's Tony?"_ Peter asks again wearily, wincing in pain, but his voice is firm as ever. _"You hurt him, I'll kill you."_

"That's enough," Tony says weakly, just as a scream rips through the static. Tony leans back in his seat, first off glad he had killed Ross, and furious there was a split second when he was maybe going to let him live. Tony's hand was shaking and he made it stop. Natahsa had said sleep, but he couldn't do that now. He had to fix something. Peter had been hurt because of him and he had let it happen. And now the kid was gone, out of his life. He let that happen too. And now he couldn't protect him. 

Tony pressed his hands to his temples. There was something in the lab he could do, right? There was always something. Tony started the long trek there, feeling slightly drowsy. After a couple minutes, he walked into the lab, rubbing his eye to rid sleep. Suddenly there was a small noise behind him and Tony froze, sucking in a breath.

He pressed a button on his wrist, his heart pounding and then he spun, lashing out with his palm, a gauntlet from the side of the room flying over to it and forming around his hand, a blast heating up in the center. 

"Wait-nonono-" Peter ducked behind a table. The teenager shouted angrily, "I almost webbed you!"

Tony's eyes widened and he blinked, lowering his arm in disbelief, "Kid?"

"Hey," Peter said weakly, peering up over a table and giving him a half grin.

Tony stared at him. "Hey."

There was silence for only a split second before Peter blurted, "So Luke and Leia are brother and sister?"

"Who ruined it for you?" Tony said, trying to calm himself down and ignore the fact that Peter had just shown up. Here. Of course that wasn't gonna be the first thing they talked about. Tony didn't really know what to say.

"A kid I met at school," Peter said casually, rubbing his head while flipping a wrench between his fingers. Tony recognized the familiar tic....because he does it himself. Peter hopped up on a lab table, his feet dangling, "I guess you could call him a friend."

"What's his name?" Tony asked casually, walking down the lab steps. Peter was here. Why? 

"Ned," Peter said, spinning the wrench on his thumb. 

Tony walked forward, stopping when he was a few feet from the teen, facing Peter, "Good first day?" 

Peter drummed his fingers on the table, shrugging before sliding off, his feet hitting the ground, "It wasn't bad. I'm sorry- I- I know I didn't call., I just kinda...hi."

"Hey, when I said the door was always open, I meant it. It's good to see you kid," Tony said sincerely.

They started awkwardly at each other for a bit, before Peter lit up and turned, pointing to the nearest work table. "So I know a while ago you said that Ross had some tech you didn't know- well- I- I was thinking that, you know, since I worked on this stuff, maybe I can help you? Right? So I re-rewired the center panel on this compressor. I think with the right amount of surge, FRIDAY could- could bypass the emergency shutdown procedure and you can plug it into your computer. It only took me like 20 minutes- FRIDAY said to just wait here because she knew you'd stop by eventually, and I still don't know the ins and out of this place so I just...waited. If you don't want help- I- it's fine. I get it-"

Tony had started grinning the minute the kid started talking. He sounded like him when he was really excited. Tony always talked faster when it came to science or technology. it seemed Peter did the same.

"Kid," he finally laughed. 

Peter's gaze snapped up to him as he trailed off, "Yea- yeah?"

"Slow down," Tony smiled.

"Sorry," Peter put his hands down by his sides, blushing.

He and Tony locked gazes. "How have you been Pete? Are you ok?" Tony asked out of the blue.

Peter knit his eyebrows and nodded slowly, "Yeah. Yeah I am. May and Ben are...just awesome. And then school- it's...it's all...Thanks."

"Stop thanking me. You're weird," Tony smirked, going over to the nearest screen. "Toss me that," he directed, pointing to a screwdriver next to Peter. The teen scooped it up and threw it, Tony catching it with one hand and tightening a clasp on the new armor prototype he was working on. Peter webbed an iPad on the other side of the room and caught it, flicking through it. 

"Hey, careful," Tony scowled. "You break it, you buy it."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Woah this is cool," he remarked. "An upgrade for century mode. 16Z. The distance of the light is insane, how did you get it that strong?"

"It connects with the arc reactor's core and reuses kinetic energy-hey, come here for a sec," Tony's eyes widened and he realized Peter would probably scroll to the next one, which he didn't want the kid to see. He quickly waved him over and thank God Peter looked up, walking over to Tony's side. 

"That new blaster saved my life you know?" Tony said, pointing to the gauntlet on the table that he had used a week ago. 

"Really, when?" Peter asked happily. 

"When Ross' men dragged me down here, they thought it would be best to rough me up in my own lab. I blasted them with that thing, so good thing it worked," he winked.

"Oh," Peter said, his face scrunching up. "Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine kid," Tony assured him. Peter wasn't convinced and Tony distracted him by pulling up a different screen, "Did you eat?" Peter shook his head, "Ok, so maybe we can just finish up on this one project idea I had, and then watch a movie while we eat or something. I'll drive you home with Happy tonight or something. I take it Ben has probably made you watch all the Star Wars though."

"He offered," Peter said slowly. "I said I had already seen them."

"Oh," Tony nodded, before he turned. "Wait, but you only saw Episode 4 and 5?"

"I wanted to see it...with...here-" Peter said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He avoided eye contact and suddenly became interested with the floor.

A grin broke out on Tony's face, "I think you missed me Parker."

Peter scowled, "No. I didn't miss you. At all actually. No."

"Good," Tony sniffed, turning to a different screen and calling over his shoulder, "I didn't miss you either. It was so peaceful-"

Peter started to smile too, "Ok jerk, I can leave."

"Wouldn't care," Tony smirked. 

"Screw you," Peter laughed. 

"Quit complaining and make sure my math is right. Which it is. All the time," Tony said cockily, sliding his calculations over to Peter who grinned and started reading it, his eyes zooming across the work. "And I could use the help Pete. With all of this? You know it better than I do."

Peter smiled, "Ok."

Tony yawned, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. He looked at Peter who was on the opposite side of the couch, curled up with his blanket tight against his chest. They had finished up in the lab and then Peter said hi to all of the other Avengers who were there, before they got cheeseburgers and headed up to the living room to watch The Return of The Jedi. They had finished and as the credits rolled they munched on popcorn, which Tony found out Peter did like with butter.

Halfway through the credits Peter fell asleep, and Tony soon followed suit. Now he woke and the clock read 10:45. He looked over at Peter just as teen's face is scrunched in pain and he's gripping the blanket tight. Tony gently slips out from under the blankets and goes over to Peter's side, gently putting a hand to his shoulder, "Kid you alright?"

Peter's fist lashes out and Tony catches it this time- catches both actually, as the other one flails out as well. Peter shouts in panic, "Hey- get off me! Let me-"

"Same side," Tony assures him loudly, trying to jolt him awake. "Guess who? Hi. It's me."

Peter's eyes open and focus on him and he relaxes, his strained fists uncurling. He breaths a sigh of relief and sinks back down into the couch, "Oh. Hey, man."

"Yeah," Tony said firmly. 

Peter chuckles nervously, "That was scary."

"Yeah," Tony said slowly. "You're done. Come on, let's go."

"No, no, we can go at least one more-" Peter protested, sitting up. 

"I'm calling Aunt May and making your bed time 9 if you don't listen to me," Tony threatened.

"I'm not done, I'm not done-" Peter said again but he was falling asleep even while saying that. 

"Come on kid," Tony said gently. "I'll drive you home."

"You suck," Peter murmured. Tony smiled and mockingly ruffled his hair, knowing that would piss him off. Peter whacked his hand sleepily, "Get off."

"Get _up_ ," Tony countered, starting to get to his feet.

"Wait-" Peter's eyes opened and he grabbed Tony's sleeve. "I have a question. When you told me about Afghanistan...is that what you wanted to tell me? When you trusted me?"

"Yeah kid," Tony nodded. "It was."

"You trust me?" Peter said in clarification. 

Tony smiled, "With scissors, no. But yea kid."

Peter smirked. "I-I trust you too. Don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Tony grinned, shaking his head. "Now come on, May's gonna kill me. It's a school night. You have homework."

"It's the first day you idiot," Peter grumbled, chucking a pillow at Tony. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Tell me what you think! I love hearing your thoughts. Kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> Next one will be slightly shorter but will dive into some action that kickstarts the next rollercoaster we go on so stay tuned!!!! It will hopefully be out in roughly 3 days- that's what I've been aiming for.  
> Thank you all so much for sticking with this <3  
> I love you all 3000 :)


	10. Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicol inspired this one with a suggestion in a previous story. I molded it around the past and current events in the fic. Thank you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapterrrrr I hope you all like it!!!! It's light, with some chaotic Peter that is slowly emerging and some Tony Peter humor. But there's underlying angst which we all love. This school week has been crazy so this was not as long as I wanted it to be so I'm sorry <3 I had an essay due and it was NOT fun.  
> Thank you all so much for your support and for keeping with this, I really appreciate it! I'm having so much fun driving Tony and Peter closer very very very slowly :) muhahaha  
> Anyway, thank you for reading and enjoy the chapter!!!

Peter had found the happy medium between the Avengers Compound and his house. He went over after school some weekdays and every Friday, and usually slept in his old room there overnight and went back home Sunday afternoon. School had been going just fine. Peter and Ned were now good friends, and he was introduced to the entire Academic Decathlon team, including his new friend Michelle Jones, who he called MJ for short. She was nice, a dry humorist and defensive like him, but also personable once you got to know her.

It had been 25 days since Peter got out. He thought he was adjusting well for his circumstances, such as waking up in cold sweats every night. He hated being alone because that's when his mind took over and he couldn't control it. Peter hated not being in control. He usually slept a total of 1-2 hours whenever he was at his house, which wasn't much but it was enough. It was enough for him to study to prepare for the next day, because although Peter was a genius, it was on AP topics, mostly science; he had missed the first 6 years of school. He knew enough to fake it and get by, but everything else he had to piece together by himself. 

Right now he sat staring at his ceiling, his hands shaking, itching to shoot a web. This was normal for him; another thing bothering him was his powers. That was keeping him awake big time, and on high alert 24/7. Peter couldn't use them aside from occasionally at Tony's and he wasn't used to that. In the base he was using them every day so now that he wasn't anymore he found himself having to clench his fists to keep himself from accidentally shooting webs.

Rhodey said he had hyper vigilance, the constant overwhelming fear of being under threat. Peter said it was Tuesday. Despite being quite sure that HYDRA was gone and that he could finally live a normal life, some small voice reminded him of his past, and because of that voice he couldn't escape it. Peter knew deep down he never would escape it. He had a weird feeling about today, something that almost made him not want to go to school, but even by saying that he realized he had a school to go to now. Determined to not take that for granted, Peter grabbed his backpack and left.

He was tense all day, but he was getting used to Ned's fast paced sentences that seemed to never stop. He was getting used to his teacher's drawl as he monologued about things Peter already knew. The bells were annoying too- making him snap striaght up in his chair and clench fists, his senses sharpening and hearing every sound. 

Peter was used to the headaches though. There was so much happening at once it all got whirled around his head. He heard conversations two feet away, while also hearing one from down the hall. He heard a person drop their backpack down the steps, and every locker door that slammed shut had Peter's head turning. He was constantly trying to ignore everything, and just focus on one thing, but he couldn't shake old habits.

Peter got a cheeseburger at the lunch line, to see if they were as good as Tony's and walked back to a table with his friend, sitting down. 

"So you study for that Spanish quiz?" Ned asked, mixing mayonnaise and ketchup for his chicken fingers. 

"That's disgusting. And yeah, I memorized it all last night," Peter nodded, taking a bite of the cheeseburger and making a face. It was no where close to Tony's.

"Lunch food. Sucks. Welcome to public school," Michelle jokes from her seat next to Ned.

Ned was still on the previous topic, unaware of Peter's face of disgust, "It's weird how you can do that. Just memorize stuff on the spot?"

Peter smiled sadly. "It's just...how I grew up." 

"Still," Ned grinned in awe, clearly not realizing what Peter meant was that if he was given directions and didn't follow them, or given something to memorize and missed a word, or didn't remember exact orders, or assembled parts wrong...if he even stepped one foot out of line or messed up even in the slightest-

"Ned how many years have you been taking Spanish?" Michelle asked, not looking up from her book. Peter snapped out of his thoughts and turned to glance at his friend.

"Uh, three? Why?"

"How do you say 'Hi, my name is Ned. Where's the bathroom?' in Spanish," she drawled.

"I-" Ned frowned. "i don't know."

Michelle looked up and made a face, "Three years of a high school language, and he doesn't know the first phrase he would need to. That's the problem with our school system. It's flawed."

Peter grinned and took a bite of his burger when suddenly someone dropped something on the other side of the cafeteria. There was a loud bang and Peter jumped, shoving his hands under the table and clenching them as they shook. He squeezed his eyes shut and dug his nails into his palms, taking deep breaths through his nose. 

"Peter, you ok?" Ned asked slowly. 

Peter's hands were still shaking but he licked his lips and managed, "Yeah- yeah. Bit my tongue."

He swallowed it down, his foot tapping nervously against the floor and he settled on gripping the seat instead until his knuckles turned white. He faked it the rest of the lunch period, with Ned talking about Star Wars too much and Michelle buried in her book too much for them to notice. But the janitor did notice later, when the bottom of a metal stool was bent in an odd angle. He scratched his head.

Peter had just closed his locker and was about to head downstairs to meet Ned by the front when he heard multiple footsteps behind him. Peter tensed and looked down, seeing about 5 pairs of feet come into his peripheral vision. He turned slowly, closing his locker. 

"Sup Parker."

Flash crossed his arms, standing in front of him, clearly showing off the inch he had over Peter. 

Peter's eyes flicked around to each one of the bully's friends before staring right at Flash and straightening as much as possible. "What do you want?"

"Don't get all defensive," Flash put up his hands. "We think you're cool."

"Thanks, don't care," Peter smirked.

Flash made a face of approval, "Tough, I like it. Look, you don't want a fight just as much as I don't. Don't make me. It's 5 against 1."

"I like those odds," Peter snarled.

"I love this guy," Flash grinned widely, punching Peter in the arm. Peter saw it coming a mile away and he locked his shoulder when he saw the jab coming, not even blinking. He just kept a steady cold gaze on Flash.

"We don't want trouble," Flash assured him with another wide grin. "We were thinking-"

"I don't want to join your little boy band," Peter said sarcastically, "I'm good." He attempted to push past but Flash stuck out his hand. Peter glared at it pointedly and the boy dropped it, raising his hands again in surrender, obviously believing Peter when he said he liked those odds and not wanting to pick a fight at this moment in time. 

"Look, we're not gonna force you. Just...we get a bad rep. Just cause' we're popular. But people know us, and they hang with us. So we wanted to see if you could hang out tonight, with us. It will look cool and new kids always want to look cool, right? I mean, you came to a pretty big school, right now you're a nobody."

Peter flashed him a glare, curling his fists and hissing, "I'm _not_ a nobody." He wasn't. He spent years being called a nobody. He wouldn't go through that anymore, he wouldn't be called that. 

"Woah," one of Flash's friends said, stepping forward and Peter shot him a glare that sent him stepping back. Yeah that's right. Back off.

"Richie, it's ok, it's ok," Flash assured, his eyes never leaving Peter. "I'm just making a point Parker."

"Than make it," Peter said firmly. 

"I can help you get your name out there. Not asking you to join our group, just wanted to help a friend out, and get you higher up on the food chain."

"We're not friends," Peter countered.

Flash put his hands in his pockets, "Clearly. Cause right now you're a tiny fish swimming in an ocean of sharks." He walked by Peter, purposely bumping his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "And the sharks need to eat." He called back, "Offer stands. Think about it Parker."

Peter let them walk a couple feet before he called back, "When and where?"

Flash stopped walking, turned around, and grinned. 

Tony and Steve were playing foosball in the living room. Bucky and Rhodey, who had just versed were waiting their turn, talking in the corner with beers in their hands. 

Tony flicked his wrist scoring yet another point and Steve groaned, pushing the ball back into play. "What is it, like 20-0 now?" 

Tony grinned, "Something like that. You really need to practice."

"I did practice," Steve grumbled. 

"Doesn't show," Tony grinned, switching to the front two rods and blocking Steve's shots before sending the ball spinning in the hole with a satisfying thud. 

Steve put his hands up, laughing. "I give up. You cannot be beat."

Tony grinned and waved Rhodey over, "Hey. Game?"

"Sure," Rhodey grinned, setting down his beer and heading over, pulling up his sleeves. 

"Oh, gettin' serious now," Steve laughed, leaning against the wall next to Bucky. 

_"Sir. Peter's here. In the lab on level 2."_

Tony knit his eyebrows, tossing the ball to Rhodey who was also confused. Bucky checked his watch, "It's 10:30 on a school night. And it's a Wednesday."

"Peter doesn't come on Wednesdays," Tony murmured to himself, tapping the table, "Buck, kick Rhodey's butt."

He got down to the lab as fast as he could, and when he reaches it, he relaxes, relived to see Peter with his back turned, hunched over a lab table in the corner of the room. Tony breaths a sigh of relief as he heads down the steps. He calls out, "FRIDAY told me you were here."

"Yeah, I- I told her to tell you," Peter said quietly.

Tony knit his eyebrows, "You scared me kid. Whatcha doing here?"

"I just didn't want to go home," Peter said, still not turning around. There was something wrong with his voice...like it was slurred or something. 

Tony smiles, glancing over a screen and running some numbers while he spoke, "What's wrong Pete? Something happen with May or Ben?"

"No," Peter said firmly, "No. Not them."

"School then?" Tony asked, turning around and realizing something he should have from the beginning. Peter still hadn't faced him. He had been talking to his back the entire time. He straightened, flicking the screen away, facing Peter completely. 

"Yeah, you could say that." As the kid reached for a screwdriver Tony caught sight of a smear of blood on his fingers. 

"Pete?"

"Yeah."

"Turn around."

Silence.

Peter didn't answer. 

"Peter," Tony said harshly. 

Peter sighed, gripping the sides of the bench and lowering his head. He finally did, slowly, and raised his gaze. Tony froze. 

"I just didn't want to go home because I know they'll be mostly gone by tomorrow morning and-"

"Who did it?" Tony said furiously.

The black eye, the bruises on his face- punches so hard that they split skin, blood smeared on his cheek. His knuckles were bloody and his palms were bleeding. Peter was slightly bent over, clearly sporting some busted ribs. An eye was almost swollen shut, and his lip was busted too. His cheekbone was a different color, and the injuries didn't stop there, his shoulder was scraped too, along with a hole in his jeans, the fabric splotched red. He was almost positive bruises littered the kid's chest and side too. For a moment he couldn't breathe. His vision turned red and he stared. He just stared. 

"Tony-" Peter said weakly.

Tony was shaking he was so furious. He pointed out the door, "Med bay. Now."

"T-"

" _Don't_ test me Parker," Tony warned. Peter glared at him but then winced from that motion, giving in. Tony walked with a fast pace up the stairs and down the hall, slowing slightly, as Peter was limping a bit to catch up with him. He reached for Peter's arm to try and support him, "Do you need-"

"I'm fine," Peter said curtly, looking straight ahead. The kid stopped limping, his face tense with pain from the effort that took. They walked in silence and when they got to the med bay, Peter sat down, pulling up his jeans to reveal a nasty scrape. 

"I'm gonna ask this once, and you're gonna tell me what you want to tell me. It's up to you of you want to give me the whole story, or half of it, I don't care, but I want to hear the truth, you understand me?" Tony said calmly.

Peter scowled but it softened into understanding and he nodded.

"Good," Tony said firmly. "Now what happened?"

"There's a guy," Peter started. "Named Flash. He's a bully. I met him the first day of school, we didn't really hit it off. Well he and his buddies came up to me in school and asked if I wanted to hang out with them-" Peter pressed a hand against his temple, wincing, "I should have said no, I just...he knew what to say- I was stupid and defensive and egotistical and I should have-"

Peter shook his head, wincing as he wiped blood from a cut that was closing on his chin. "We met up around 9. At first it was fine. Then they pulled out fake IDs and went in to a store, tried to buy all this crap they weren't supposed to. The dude at the counter didn't even check their ID. I walked out and some of them followed me, backed me into an alleyway and I said, ya know, I wasn't gonna be apart of this. They offered me a bunch of the crap they had bought, I said no." Peter said firmly.

"So then I started to walk away and one of them pulled me back. We started talking, and then yelling. He threw the first punch. I tried not to-" Peter shook his head, his shoulder slumping. "They jumped me. I could have taken them. I did- I did take them. I broke the guy's wrist without even blinking."

Peter held his hand out in front of him, palm up, and looked at Tony with fear in his gaze. "He had my arm and I just twisted and yanked-" Peter replicated the motion with an empty look in his eyes that hurt Tony's heart. His voice was so small and scared.

"Like I would snapping a pencil. It just came so naturally. I could have sent every one of those jerks to the hospital but- but the minute I heard that crack and- and his scream I just-" Peter trailed off.

"I realized I had hurt someone. And I couldn't fight back after that. So I didn't. I took all the punches, every last one, until they were tired enough to leave me there and get in their car and drive off. I shouldn't have gone in the first place, I was stupid, I just...didn't want to be nobody anymore- but I never wanted to be apart of something like that- especially not what they were doing- but i didn't want to hurt anybody either-"

Peter put his head in his hands. "I screwed up." Then the fire in his eyes was back and he glared at Tony, "Please don't say anything. I'm not in the mood. You wanted to hear what happened, I told you what happened."

Tony respected that and kept his mouth shut, fury building in his chest as he handed Peter wipes to clean up most of the blood and started to stitch up the cut in his leg. "You know the drill with the stitches," he said shortly. 

"Yeah," Peter said back.

"You fight back next time though, you understand me?" Tony said firmly. 

"What and kill them?" Peter snarled. "No."

"What and let them beat the crap out of you?" Tony countered furiously. "When someone comes up to you and punches you across the face, what are you going to do, write him a thank you card? You gonna stand there because you're afraid of breaking the poor man's wrist?"

"I can't risk it!" Peter yelled.

"Why not?" Tony shouted, mad with himself for how fast this escalated.

"Because I have not used my powers in so long, they're growing Tony- I can feel them," he splutters, mustering a laugh with no humor. "They're building up inside of me, begging to be let out and I have tried so hard to hold them back, and the _only_ way I have done it so far is by bundling it all up," he hisses.

Peter's voice breaks, "I can't risk it. I'll heal. The other person may not. If i even slip a tiny bit, I will _explode_. I'm a ticking time bomb Tony, I will never be normal!"

"Who says you have to be normal?" Tony threw up his hands. "None of us here are normal! I told you don't fear your powers-"

"I don't fear them, I fear what _I can do._ What I can do to other people! People I care about!" Peter shook his head, a broken sob coming up as he shouts, "I have been trained to be a weapon for as long as I can remember. I just broke that kid's wrist and if I hadn't been focusing everything I had on keeping it all in I would have broken much more than that. I could have killed them and I wouldn't have known probably, I would have been sucked back to that place in my mind-" Peter takes a shuddery breath, "No one knows what I'm capable of, not even myself, and that scares me Tony. I can't control my powers. I never could."

"You don't think you control your powers?" Tony asked.

"I know I can't," Peter said firmly.

"Hit me," Tony said suddenly.

Peter's gaze snapped up, "What?"

"Hit me," Tony repeated.

Peter spluttered, "No!"

"Yes," Tony urged. "Come on. Do it."

"You're crazy," Peter nodded, his eyes wide.

"I've been called worse. Hit me," Tony said again. 

"Why?"

"Because I want you to see that you can control your power kid. You're the strongest teenager I know, and the smartest. You're telling me you can reroute a compressor on one of Tony freaking Stark's iron man suit prototypes, but you can't throw a punch?"

"I can throw a punch," Peter said defensively, "but it will just knock you halfway across the room."

"Then don't do that," Tony said simply. "Pull the punch."

Peter scoffed, "It's not that easy."

"It is that easy," Tony corrected. "Just like the suit. We give it a lot of power, but we want to control the stabilizers."

"Fine."

"Fine!" Tony nodded. Peter curled his fist, staring Tony down and bending his knees. "What the heck are you doing?" Tony asked in confusion.

"I've never fake punched anyone before," Peter mumbled.

Tony sighed, "I didn't ask you to fake punch me, I asked you to real punch me."

"I-" Peter lowered his hand, hesitating. 

"Chicken," Tony said. 

"Don't call me that."

"Well that's what you are."

"Shut up."

"You didn't have a problem punching me on the plane when we first met."

"Yeah because-"

"Stop stalling. Seriously do I have to hold your hand?"

"I hate you."

"Good. Punch me."

"Ok, I will."

"Ok!"

Peter grit his teeth, wound up, and before he could lose courage, punched Tony across the face. Tony barely flinched and he raised an eyebrow, almost laughing at how weak it was. "Ok, you must be really off your game there because that was-"

Peter punched again and Tony staggered a bit with that one, before straightening and rubbing his stinging jaw. "Did I say punch me twice?"

"You implied it," Peter shrugged.

Tony moved his jaw around, giving Peter a look. "Uh huh. Mkay. Well look at that, you didn't throw me halfway across the room."

Peter scowled, grabbing the ice pack with one hand that Tony tosses to him, taking one for himself to so there was no bruise on his jaw. That would be a fun one to explain to Pepper. 

"You ok?" Peter asked angrily. 

"I think I'll live," Tony smirked. 

"Wupee," Peter sighed with a slight smile but the kid seemed more sure of himself, meaning Tony's point was made.

"Did you text May?" Tony asked, hopping up next to Peter and looking over his cuts that were already slowly closing. Good. Because every second he looked at Peter was another second he got angrier some idiot highschoolers would do this to the kid...after all he went through. 

Tony waved him back, "Just next time-"

"I know," Peter nodded firmly.

Tony drummed his fingers on the table, "Good. And I don't need to tell you-"

"No," Peter said quickly. 

"Good. Don't do it again," he said firmly. Then he raised an eyebrow, "And you know, if they-"

"You better not," Peter warned with a slight smirk. His eyes said, thank you, but I don't need help. Because he never asked for help, even when he should. 

"Fine," Tony put his hands up in surrender.

"I can stay here right? I already texted May and said you needed me for some stuff-" Peter stuttered, "Please don't tell her-"

"I'm not gonna tell her, just like I promised I wouldn't tell her about your powers either," Tony nodded. "You're always welcome here kid. Always."

"Thanks Tony," Peter said sincerely.

Tony was staring at Peter's black eye and again he found himself angry, his hands curling into fists. Peter noticed and shoved him lightly, "It's ok."

"It's not," Tony sighed, clasping Peter on the shoulder as he led him out of the med bay. "You been eating and sleeping enough?"

"I could ask you the same question," Peter countered with a smirk.

"Yeah?" Tony grinned with amusement. "Well I don't care about me."

"Well I d-" Peter clears his throat and quickly changes his sentence. "Well you should, you know, sleeping is important."

Tony smirked, giving him a mocking nod, grinning since he heard that first sentence Peter was about to say. Peter saw him smirking and shook his head, looking down, "Shut up Tony."

**2 Days Later**

Peter shut his door. "May I'm gonna be doing homework for a while, ok?" He dumped the contents of his backpack on the bed, grinning happily.

"Lots and lots of homework."

Peter tried on the black goggles and they fit perfectly. He put them on his forehead and grabbed the blue sweatpants and sweatshirt he had bought. Then he grabbed the red pull over, sliding in his chair and skidding to a stop at his desk, turning his light to it as he flipped his permanent marker in his hand. 

After tracing a spider with pencil he went over it with black, giving it multiple coats until he was sure it wasn't going to come off. Then he cut off some of the excess material so that it would be lighter for him to wear. 

He grabbed his set of gloves and started to fit them around his hands, marking spots he wanted to create cuts in, cutting holes for his fingers so he could still stick to walls. Then he put on the glove, pulling up the sides until it was snug and marking the section he needed to cut out to create a hole for his web to shoot out, big enough that it wouldn't get stuck on the fabric. 

He grabs the socks and slip on shoes with adhesives that he had gotten and padded immensely for any big jumps he had to do. He didn't really know what to expect. 

Some ten minutes later, after doing some final touches and putting everything on Peter slipped on the cotton mask that had holes for where the goggles would go. He had fit in little lenses on the inside, super glued the edges, finding that they blocked out most of the distracting elements Peter experienced.

A knock on the door startled him and Peter ripped off the mask in a panic, shooting a web at the door, keeping it closed.

"Peter?"

"I- uh- can't come to the door right now!" he squeaked, his voice cracking as he began to take off his shoes in a hurry. Crap, crap, crap, crap!

"The door's locked. Are you ok?"

"Oh, did I do that? Sorry- yeah I'm fine, just under a bunch of books, all have pages open- I'm fine May."

The handle stopped jiggling and he heard May laugh. "I'm glad you're liking school Peter."

Peter, with half of his sweatshirt twisted in his arms muffled out, "Oh yeah, it's- it's great."

"I'm gonna head to the store, I just wanted to tell you," May called.

Peter stopped struggling and grinned, "Ok! Ok, yeah! Good. Very cool. I'll be here. Studying. Hopefully I'll be done when you get back. When- when might that be?"

"Half hour?" May said slowly. "Peter are you-"

"I'm fine," Peter said, putting his shoes back on, hopping around to grab his mask and searching for his goggles he had flung off. "Time management you know?"

"Well I love you," May laughed lightly. 

"Love you too- aha!" Peter grabbed his goggles triumphantly on the ground on the other side of the room.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Peter yelped, webbing the door again just in case. It made a huge THWAP noise and Peter winced, groaning silently. 

"What was that?" May asked in concern. 

Peter wanted to rip his hair out. He punched a pillow, "Nothing! Dropped a book! I'm ok, really, this is just a really bad time," Peter said, his voice cracking as he tried to keep himself together. "I'll see you after you get back."

"Ok Peter," she agreed. "Good luck!"

Peter waited an excruciating twenty more seconds for her to leave and close the door before he walked over to his window and opened it, sticking to the wall next to him. He closed the window, making sure it was unlocked, before he bent his knees, holding onto the building for dear life. He looked down at the city street and took a deep breath.

"It's not that high," he told himself. "Just aim, web, swing, and then release. Not that hard."

"What am I saying?"

"Well, I'm gonna die," he stated, jumping off the building before he could lose his courage. He shot a web, missing the first building he was aiming for and Peter started flailing, getting closer to the ground. He cursed and let out a long yell, wind whipping through his homemade suit as he shot a desperate web, this one catching the side of a skyscraper.

He fell only one more foot, twisting his wrist to hold on to the web as Peter was yanked into the air, almost dislocating his shoulder from the jolt. He adjusted, breathing hard before kicking his legs up to get momentum and letting go, free falling for a couple seconds before he shot another web, holding on with both hands and swinging. 

He did a flip in the air, his stomach dropping and exhaled slowly, shooting another web with ease. 

"I'm getting the hang of this!" Peter grinned, releasing the web and firing another one, propelling himself forward. He flipped up into the air, letting out a whoop of delight before banking a corner, narrowly missing an edge of a building. 

"Woah, ok Peter, confidence level down just a slight bit, come on. Focus," he said, narrowing his eyes. We, swing, release. Pump your legs. Peter realized with a start that there was a smile on his face. And it was genuine. No one was around, meaning it wasn't just plastered on there either. Huh. That wasn't normal, but Peter was grateful for it. 

Then suddenly his senses flared, the hair on his arms tingling. Peter instinctively swung down the street on his right, and sure enough, about a quarter mile down, he heard sirens. 

He saw the car swerving down the road, 4 police vehicles in hot pursuit, pedestrians flinging themselves out of harms way. Peter sucked in a breath. 

"Now or never."

He dove, spiraling and shooting a web at the last second, slowing his fall and weaving between cars and around anything in his way, before finally dropping, not so gracefully, on top of the getaway car. The man shooting out the side window looked up shocked and Peter plucked the gun from his grasp, snapping it in half with his bare hands, "I'll take that. Thanks. What's your name?"

He grabbed the man by the collar and yanked him out of the window he was leaning out of, webbing him to the nearest traffic light. The car swerved and Peter grabbed the sides so he didn't fall, crawling over to the passengers side and peering in. 

"Nice car. How about you pull over and we can talk about this like- woah!"

Shots rang out and Peter quickly pulled himself up out of view and back on top of the car, feeling the bullets whiz past his chin. He poked his head through the drivers side, grabbing the gun from the man's hand. "Didn't your mom tell you never to play with firearms?"

The man hit the break hard, which Peter wasn't expecting and he lost his grip with a strangled scream. He went flying, hitting the road hard, trying to roll with the impact. He tumbled to a stop, his back hurting and his ribs on fire. Peter crumpled to the ground with a groan. This was not what he expec-

Then everything froze. A bus was heading forward and Peter saw the cop cars brake at the sudden stop of the vehicle they were chasing- but they weren't fast enough. The police cruisers hit the bumper of the man's car, sending him flying forward.

Sprinting, his heels digging into the ground, Peter breathed deeply, his arms pumping.

Everything was going so slow but they were about to speed up really fast.

Peter dove in front of the bus, flipping up and catching the car, pushing back with all his strength. 

He was blown backward as time returned to normal speed in his mind and he bent his knees, sticking to the edge of the bus, feeling the metal dent from the weight. He opened his eyes, realizing he had closed them, also realizing he was standing sideways on the bus, holding the car up with his bare hands. He dropped to the street and set the car down slowly, before wiping his hands. 

"Always wear your seat belt kids," Peter said breathlessly.

The nearest policemen got out of his cars and leveled his guns, pointing it at Peter. "FREEZE!" he yelled nervously, "Who are you?"

"Buddy I just did your job!" Peter scoffed, "Look at the guy." 

"Who are you?" the cop repeated. 

Peter sighed and webbed his gun effortlessly, tossing it to the side before flipping to the top of the bus that had screeched to a halt. He grinned, remembering the name Tony and he had joked about that while ago.

"Just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman." He sprinted along the side and jumped, shooting a web and skimming the ground before vaulting himself into the sky.

Maybe he couldn't defend himself, or didn't want to. Because he deserved the beatings...he deserved the past nine years. Tony had told him to tell him the truth, but said he didn't have to tell him everything. Peter hadn't told him everything. When Flash and his friends had beat him up, Peter let them, that was the truth. But what he withheld was the fact that it was not just because he didn't want to hurt them, but because after nine years of having that same torture, it felt normal. He gave in to it, and that made him more disgusted with himself. A viscous cycle had started because Peter no longer cared about getting hurt.

For nine years he had sat there and taken it because there was no other option. Peter keeps forgetting there's an option now. In the heat of the moment he never will remember, he knows that, because it was drilled into him, it became a habit. 

HYDRA had broke him, they had changed him. And despite the fact that he was out, the world wasn't what he thought it was, because monsters did exist in the form of humans. Well maybe he deserved it, after the things he had done, but other people didn't deserve it. Innocent people didn't. 

So maybe Tony was right. Maybe he would become a superhero. But not like the Avengers, not yet at least. The world didn't need saving all the time, but the little guy did once in a while. Peter could do that. He could try to make up for the horrible things he had done for half of his life. And maybe it wouldn't make up for it, in his mind and heart nothing would. But he would try. And he would stop as many bad guys as he possibly could. 

Because he had been helping the enemy for nine years now, it was time for a change. And maybe Peter Parker was just a nerd, a geek at school who got bullied and concealed his past and identity. Maybe Peter Parker escaped his old tormentor and found a new one, despite having powers and being stronger and smarter...maybe he was never made to stand up to him, or stick up to himself. Someone who could lift a bus with his bare hands was still afraid of a high school kid. Maybe that was just his curse. Maybe Peter Parker wasn't the fresh start he believed he was.

But Spiderman was.

And Peter would pour his heart and soul into it. 

"That kid!" Tony punched the bed later that night, laughing without humor. 

Pepper looked up from her book, startled, "What? Is Peter ok?"

"He honestly thinks I'm stupid, I swear," Tony shook his head, handing Pepper the phone while fuming. 

"Spiderman saves bus full of civilians. New vigilante on the rise?" she reads with a smirk. The video shows the teenager dropping down on top of a criminal's car, throwing him out the window and then stopping the car from hitting the bus after being thrown off it and tumbling to the ground. "Peter?"

"No," Tony drawls. "Some other kid who has Spider powers and is called Spiderman who just happens to show up right when Peter does. I called it, did I not? Did I not call this? He probably broke like seven ribs from that first hit. And he didn't tell me..."

Pepper laughed, "You going to talk to him?"

Tony grinned. "Oh heck no, not yet. I'm gonna have fun first."

"Tony don't mess with the kid," Pepper sighed.

"Oh I'm going to. Big time. We have that relationship Pepper, it's fine," Tony assures.

"Oh you do now?" Pepper grins, setting down her book.

"That kid's an idiot, I swear. Genius, but downright stupid. What is he even wearing?" Tony squints in disgust, "Is that a sweatshirt and a...oh my God it looks like a vest. And swimming goggles? He looks like- I don't even know. I literally made him a suit!"

"He doesn't know that!" Pepper laughed, rubbing his arm. "And it's not bad for a 16 year old. Could be worse."

"Worse?" Tony scoffed. "He's wearing sweatpants with bright red socks. And did I mention the swimming goggles?"

"You mentioned the swimming goggles," Pepper sighed. 

"He's gonna be the death of me," Tony swears, crossing his arms. Pepper smirks, hiding a laugh. Tony turns to look at her and raises an eyebrow in confusion, "What?"

"Nothing," she grins.

"No," he turns over on his side and grabs her hand as she starts to get up. "It's something. What is it?"

"You're blind," she laughs, kissing him lightly.

"Blind? I'm not blind," Tony makes a face. "You know who is bling though? Peter. Black goggles, what's he thinking? He's gonna swing himself into a building- _what's so funny Pep_?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to leave kudos <3 I hope you liked it. Next chapter is gonna be so funny because of course Tony has to mess with Peter a bit, before finally revealing he knew about Spiderman all along. We also get more action, and some Avenger time with Peter, as well as a reminder of the internal struggle Peter is still going through but just hiding rly rly RLY well.  
> Anyway I hope you liked it, thank you so so so so much for reading!!! Stay tuned for the next chapter!  
> I love you all 3000 <3


	11. With Great Power...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooo lovely readers!!!! I am back. Back again. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I like it XD  
> We're getting closer to some....devastating events so strap in! I hope you enjoy this one, it's funny, and cute, and I hope I did it justice. I am sorry this is like the last day of my usual deadline I give myself. Ugh! Im sorry!! The next one will be out on the 23rd for a specific reason I will explain in due time :) but since that’s like 4 days hopefully I can write a bit of the next NEXT chapter as well and get that out sooner. Which is good for y’all because next chapter will end with a major cliff hanger.  
> Many thanks to all of the articles about real life arc reactors I had to read to pick some sentences to say to sound smart 😂  
> Thank you so much for sticking with this!!! <3 <3 ENJOY!!

_"Peter's on his way."_

"Ok, get the video ready FRIDAY," Tony grinned, rubbing his hands. 

_"This isn't very nice,"_ FRIDAY says, and he swears she's smirking.

"Oh it's fine," Tony grins. 

_"When do you plan on telling him?"_

"When it stops being funny," Tony smiled, looking on the News Broadcast he had playing on a loop. 

_"Queens New York has it's very own superhero. No, it's not Iron man, and it's not Captain America. It's Spiderman. This masked vigilante saved a bus full of civilians, stopping a criminal that was being pursued by police."_

"Hey kid," Tony called distractedly as Peter opened the door to the lab.

"Tony I need to-" The kid cut off and Tony figured he had looked up at the TV screen that had him plastered all over it.

_"The webslinger appeared out of no where, diving in and saving the day. We don't know who this masked hero is, but he performed his duty well. When asked who he was he responded with the catchy line, 'your friendly neighborhood Spiderman'. Take a look at this footage."_

"Somebody's copying you Peter," Tony called over his shoulder. "Did you hear about this Spiderman?" Good thing he was turned around because he would have had to hide his grin at the shocked silence behind him. 

Peter then made up for the hesitation and stuttered, "Yeah. Yeah I did. He did pretty well back there."

"Could have stuck the landing a little better," Tony admitted, snickering quietly. "And he looks like an idiot."

"He-" Peter was clearly pissed and Tony was trying not to laugh because of it. The teen set down his bag and crossed the lab, inspecting the blaster Tony was working on, meaning Tony had to cut his smirk. "Maybe he didn't have a lot to work with," he said tactically, defending the unknown masked hero. 

"Swimming goggles though?" Tony pointed out, happily noticing the way Peter straightened and shot him a look. 

"Well, actually, I can relate on that one," Peter said slowly, the boy trying not to trip over his words. "When my senses are dialed to 11, I find it easier when things are blocked out. Maybe he's the same way."

"Huh," Tony nodded, making a mental note of that. He'd add that to the real suit design he was creating for Peter. Blue and red, like the colors Peter had picked, but this time it wasn't sweatshirts and sweatpants, and the spider in the middle didn't look like it was drawn with a permanent marker...which it probably was. "Anyways, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Peter frowned, "N-nothing. I forgot. I'm sure I'll remember later."

Tony nodded, shrugging and getting up from his seat. "How was school?"

It was Peter's turn to shrug. "School." 

"That kid still giving you trouble?" Tony asked seriously, his gaze flicking up to watch Peter's expressions. 

"Who, Flash? I stay away from him," Peter said.

Lie. Tony made a small sound of acknowledgement before he shot Peter a look that basically said, _nice try._

Peter poked some stuff on the desk, "What's all this?"

"Some side projects," Tony said aimlessly. "I made some touch ups on the suit. Do me a favor, run these numbers for me."

He swiped a screen and Peter walked over to the closest projection, flicking his eye over Tony's calculations while the man grabbed a couple parts and piled them on the desk, already going through them and typing on a computer. 

Then Peter started laughing. 

"What's so funny?" Tony called, bent over a computer. 

"That a tech genius who made a suit capable of flight and stabilizing and-"

"I get the point," Tony took off his glasses, coming over. 

"You got a calculus problem screwed up," Peter snickered. 

"I did not," Tony grumbled, heading over. 

"You asked me to check your work, I checked it," Peter said defensively, just for his disbelief swiping the work over to the other screen Tony had just left to walk over. 

Tony shot him a look and muttered something under his breath and walked back, inspecting the work. Then he looked up. He looked back. "FRIDAY make the correction."

_"Yes sir."_

"Shut up," Tony called to Peter who laughed. "It was 3 am when I wrote that."

"Why were you up at 3 am?" Peter grumbled angrily. "Not that I care."

"Ok, well if you want to be a saint," Tony mocked, "how much sleep did you get?"

"Not valid," Peter countered. 

"That's what I thought," Tony said. "Ok so I have to explain a little more about arc reactor technology before you help me with this next part."

"I've done some research," Peter pipes up. Tony raises an eyebrow and Peter nods. "Basically it mashes two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. The particles get charged and they move in a circle at really high speeds, making the two particles combine together into one atom. The reaction when they fuse produces helium and a free neutron. And then that's...as far as I got."

Tony finished for him, "The missing mass is converted to energy. That’s just a tradition turbine. My suit amplifies that energy, basically one big conductor."

"But there's no cooling loops, or really anything one of those would need to actually function," Peter frowned.

"Which means..." Tony prompted.

Peter raised a hopeful eyebrow, "The arc reactor has an electric circuit. It produces electricity directly- not generating heat.. Meaning you found a way to utilize the beta decay of ions...like an electron _source_ for the electron capture of Palladium, between two different radioactive isotopes."

"The fact that you even knew to say that," Tony shook his head. "Good job kid."

"Thanks. Can we blow something else up?" Peter asked with a small smile. 

Tony grinned, "I like the way you think." Then he waved his hand. "Snack first. Work after. I know you're hungry."

They walked into the kitchen and Natasha looked up with a smile, putting aside her computer, "My favorite duo."

"Hey Nat," Peter grinned. 

"Peter! Long time no see," Clint yelled across the kitchen, playing darts with Steve. "Tony, you need to re plaster this wall, Pepper's gonna get mad."

"Then stop throwing darts at my wall," Tony countered in annoyance, sliding on top of one of the bar stools. Peter took a seat next to him, watching the hilarious game unfold as Steve missed the board completely, the dart poking a small hole in the wall. Tony glared at him and Steve made a face.

"Tell Steve to stop missing," Clint pointed out, making another bulls eye. 

"Hey, I throw bigger things. Like my shield. This is not my forte," Cap grumbled. 

"Clearly," Clint snickered, before throwing another perfect bulls eye. Then he turns, winking at Tony when Peter isn't looking, "Hey Peter, did you hear about the new Spiderman kid?" 

"Yeah-" Peter stuttered, turning in the chair to face him. "Yeah, I heard." Tony got up and grabbed a cup from the cabinet, hiding a smile.

"He saved a lot of people," Nat said firmly.

"Yeah," Peter smiled. "Yeah he did."

Tony poured himself some coffee and smirked at the kid's pride, thrilled the team had agreed to be in on this.

"You two should be a duo. Spider duo," Sam suggested from his seat at the dining table, scrolling through his phone. 

"I-I don't know. Not really my...kinda thing, you know?" Peter shrugged. 

"Catch," Tony called to him, tossing him a bag of Doritos that Peter caught without even looking before sliding back into the bar seat next to the kid and taking a gulp of his coffee. Peter reached for it and Tony pushed the cup away, fending him off. "Absolutely not." 

Peter sighed and narrowed his eyes at him, instead digging through the bag of Doritos. 

Tony spun around, with a raised eyebrow, "What are you laughing at Barton?"

Clint killed his smile, "Nothing."

"I made grilled cheese, you guys want one?" Wanda asked them both. 

"That's not a question," Tony grinned and Peter smiled, nodding vigorously. 

"So how's school going Peter?" Cap asked. 

"Not...not bad," Peter said slowly. 

Tony scoffed, "Straight A's is not bad. He's just humble."

"Congrats kid!" Rhodey grinned, patting Peter on the back as he came in and took a seat next to Steve. 

"Thanks," Peter said, smiling, but clearly not wanting to talk about himself anymore. 

"So we've started analyzing some of the HYDRA crap we got," Tony changed the subject, receiving Peter's silent _thank you_. "I think it can give us a shot to shutting the entire organization down."

"That's good news," Steve said firmly. 

Tony nodded, "Yeah. It really is."

"We can end this," Peter said softly. 

Tony smiled at him, "Yeah. Yeah, we can."

Wanda gave them two grilled cheese's and Tony and Peter both grinned, unknowingly taking their plates in sync and taking a bite before they even set it down. 

"Good God there's two of them," Nat whispered. 

"Oh, Steve," Tony pointed at him after gulping down more coffee. "It's your turn to go to that stupid conference."

"It is not," Steve countered. "It's Sam's turn."

"No, because Sam took Rhodey's spot when he was sick, and then Rhodey made up for Bucky-"

"He's right, he did," Bucky called. "And then I went. So now it's you."

Steve let out a groan, "Fine."

"I mean you were the one who said we should have a system. This is a system," Tony pointed out. 

"Yeah, yeah," Steve waved him off. 

"What a happy family we are," Clint slurred. 

Tony looked over at Peter who was grinning. He shoved him lightly, "What you smiling at?"

Peter tried to kill the smile, something he had been doing since Tony knew him, like he wasn't allowed to be happy. But it was getting slower and slower, and most of the time, like now, the smile came back. "I have a crazy life."

"Darn right. Now hurry up, I gotta get you home and we've got some crap to do." 

"Yeah yeah," Peter mocked, rolling his eyes. 

**3 Days Later**

Peter was walking the last block home at 9 at night, already late from studying at Ned's. He still couldn't believe Tony didn't know he was Spiderman. Out of the whole team, Tony knew him the best. Peter thought he did at least. They had an interesting relationship, Peter knew that. He had recently told Ned he interned for Tony Stark, who was amazed at that, and only made him want to talk to Peter more. They were becoming closer friends though, and today was the first time Peter had gone over to study at his house, and also start building a lego set, which Peter actually found quite fun. 

Peter had a grip on his flashbacks now, if that also meant a grip of his nails to his palm, sometimes drawing blood just to keep himself centered. Flash had become a flat out bully to him, and Peter let him. It wasn't as much physical abuse, but verbal, which was good because it was easier for him to hide. Peter was used to both. He hadn't slept in three days, so he was thinking he probably should tonight. Which is why he needed to get home. He was just about to take out his phone to tell May he was almost there, when suddenly Peter slowed his walk, his eyes shooting left to look behind him.

When he saw the car pass and his spider senses tingled. Something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes, a bad feeling in his stomach. Peter quickly walked faster to catch up to the car that had stopped at a red light, shouldering a store wall near the corner as he ducked into the shadows and closed his eyes. Peter blocked everything out and listened. 

_"Dude we have enough."_

_"We can hit one more place."_

_"How about that bank on 21st. There's an ATM. Easy money."_

_"Fine, but that's it. We can't get cocky."_

The car continued on and Peter didn't turn around until they were out of sight. He stepped out from the shadows and bit his lip. He was supposed to be home soon...but he couldn't just-

Peter found the nearest alleyway he could and changed into his spider suit- is that what he was calling it now? Shoving on his mask and adjusting his goggles, he shot a web and flung himself into the sky, flipping in the air. The flashbacks and shaking hands were no longer a problem. He grabbed his web and swung himself forward in glee, feeling free in the night air. He banked a corner, his eyes flicking to passing street signs. When he got close enough he dropped to the ground, the bank just around the corner.

Peter pressed himself against the neighboring store's wall and heard the men from inside. He peaked around the corner and sure enough the four men were inside the closed bank, destroying the ATM machine and shoving money into a big duffel. Peter backed up before a guard could see him and climbed up the wall. He ran across the building until he came to the roof of the bank, slowly lowering himself in front of the door till he reached the ground. The men hadn't noticed him and Peter slipped silently through, making his way inside. 

Ok, four men, four guns, four big guns. Gotta get rid of those first. One man was on his knees, grabbing money, the other bent over. The other two had their fingers on the triggers, meaning they were Peter's biggest threat. Peter leaned against the wall, trying to figure out the best stance to start in. Catchy line Peter, think of one- 

"Sup guys. Forget your pin number?" The two men turn with their guns, pointing them at Peter who puts up his hands. "Ah, I'm so scared."

He shoots two webs and yanks them, flipping forward, ripping the guns out of the men's grasps. He punches one in the face, flipping the other over his shoulder before diving to the far wall to avoid a line of bullets. He shot another web, diving forward and tackling the man, rolling as he hit the ground and webbing the gun that lay vacant, whipping it around to hit the man in the face. 

"You know ATM's can be such a pain," Peter sighed, webbing a man in the face before drop kicking him. He landed flat and Peter spiraled forward, hitting a man in the face before kicking him in the stomach and using that force to jump off of him. Peter slammed the third guy into the ground. 

He heard a click of the gun and Peter jumped to the ceiling, scrambling across it as bullets peppered the wall. He dropped to the ground and rolled, blocking a punch and delivering one of his own. 

"Hey, do you know what time it is? I gotta wrap this up, it's a school night!"

He punched the man in the face, knocking him out and tossed him into his half conscious buddy. Peter shot a web at the gun that was being slowly raised to aim at his back and yanked it down without even looking, hearing it clatter against the floor. 

"You never know when to stop, do you?" Peter chided, webbing the man to the ground. "That should dissolve in a couple hours."

He grabbed the man's phone that was half out of his pocket and dialed 911. 

_"911 what's your emergency?"_

"Hey, this is Spiderman-" he turned to face one of the criminals. "Dude it's just rude to talk to people while they're on the phone. Ok fine, say hi," Peter sighed to the man who was loudly complaining and struggling being pinned to the ground. He rolled his eyes, "Delivery on 21st street? I got a wanna be Oceans 11 here. You know I just saw that movie, it was pretty good. So you're welcome. Over and out." 

Peter opened the doors to the bank and walked out, shooting a web and flinging himself into the air. It was another 5 minutes to get back to the original alleyway he had changed in and Peter dropped to the ground, racing to get his backpack and find his phone to check the time. He grabbed it and saw 6 missed calls from May and he winced as he was about to call her back. 

Then his phone died.

His anxiety went through the roof- higher than normal.

Peter tapped it.

Pushed the button.

Nothing. He was met with a black screen. He cursed loudly, sprinting out of the alleyway. He was already late, May was probably calling him, and he was going to be in so much trouble. Oh God. Oh _God._ He ran the 5 blocks home faster than he had ever run, and scrambled up the stairs to the apartment, jumping flights and shooting webs to go faster. He reached the level and slammed open the door, stumbling into the hallway before skidding to a stop. 

Tony was leaning against the wall, on his phone, and he looked up when he saw Peter, "I thought you'd run faster."

"Wha-" Peter wasn't out of breath from running, but more with shock. The look of confusion on his face showed and Tony waved his hand, motioning him to follow him. 

"Come on, hurry up," he said.

"They're gonna kill me," Peter muttered to himself, trudging after Tony, who he was supposed to go see tomorrow. Why was he here now?

"No they're not," Tony assured him.

Peter shook his head, grabbing Tony by his arm and spluttering in confusion, "Wait what are you doing here?"

Tony grabbed Peter's backpack and pulled him forward, reaching the door and knocking. "Just follow my lead," Tony hissed, before he plucked the phone from Peter's hand. 

"That's my phone," Peter commented. 

Tony threw it as hard as he could on the ground, shattering the screen before quickly picking it up. The screen was completely cracked and Peter looked at it in horror. "THAT'S MY PHONE," he hissed angrily. 

"I'll buy you another one. Shut up," Tony demanded as the door opened to a furious May.

"PETER BENJAMIN-" May trailed off, seeing Tony with a hand on a very scared Peter's shoulder. There wasn't much that scared him. But seeing Aunt May mad at him was one of the worst things in the world He gulped, avoiding her glare.

Tony flashed a smile, "Hi May."

"Peter, I called you again and again I was so worried-" she said angrily, enunciating every word, calm but livid. 

Tony guilty held up Peter's cracked phone and shrugged, "Lab accident. Sorry to bring him back so late. I snagged him from Ned's house a little early because I needed some help. Since Peter's phone was broken, which I'll buy him a new one, don't worry- we have to get you a case kid-" Tony shook his head, giving Peter's aunt another smile.

"Yeah," Peter said weakly.

Tony moved on smoothly, "I thought I had FRIDAY texted you but I guess you never got the message?"

"No I-" May checked her phone in confusion before she stopped mid sentence, "Oh. I see...I did get a message from you. A while ago. But- I could have sworn- I'm so-"

"Technology," Tony laughed lightly, clapping Peter on the back who was just staring in awe. Tony winked at him and Peter started to smile. 

"Yeah," May said slowly, before looking back up clearly flustered. "I'm sorry, I didn't see that."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have kept him so late," Tony put up his hands. 

May smiled at Peter, "Well he is a great kid. I understand."

Peter gave her a small smile, "I'm sorry May. I would have called but..."

"I know Peter," she said, rubbing his shoulder, showing all was forgiven. "Do come in," she suddenly waved Tony forward, opening the door and stepping aside. Peter stepped through first and then Tony. 

"Just for a little bit. I have homework," Peter said pointedly, still suspicious of Tony. 

"Be nice," May chided. Peter narrowed his eyes at Tony who made a face, killing it as May turned to him, "Would you like a glass of ice water?"

"That would be great, thanks," Tony said, smoothing out his suit and putting his hands in his pockets, a nervous gesture Peter had seen him do. Then he realized his own hands were in his pockets and he took them out. The one thing he loved was how close he was getting to Tony without even realizing it. The one thing he hated was that he was getting close to Tony without even realizing it. Humor and anger was the result of the conflict Peter had with their bond.

"Do you wear a suit everywhere? Like oh, going for a walk today, let me just get my going for a walk today suit?" Peter asked. 

"Do you wear that RBF everywhere? Oh wait, you do," Tony countered. 

"Courtesy of HYDRA," Peter sneered.

"Whatever," Tony scoffed.

May came back in, heading for the door, "I need to get some ice real quick-"

"Oh, it's fine really," Tony laughed, "You don't need to-" 

May smiled, opening the door and waving her hand to silence Tony, "We need it anyways. Talk amongst yourselves."

The door shut and Peter narrowed his eyes at Tony, "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you out of a little grave you dug yourself in," Tony sighed, getting to his feet and walking down the hall.

"Hey where-" Peter got to his feet, grabbed his backpack, and followed him as Tony entered his room. "Don't touch my stuff!" Peter yelled, following him inside. 

Tony poked around the stuff on his desk, "Whoa, what do we have here? Retro tech, huh? Thrift store? Salvation Army?"

Peter scowled, "The garbage actually."

Tony starts laughing. "You know me, one of the richest men in the world, and you're a dumpster diver?" 

"I'm resourceful," Peter corrects. "And I'll ask again, why-"

"Ah- ah, me first. Quick question of the rhetorical variety." Tony pulls out his phone and swipes up. A projection of the Spiderman video pops up and he grins at Peter as he watches himself fight atop a car.

Tony grins, "It's been a good run, but since you decided to give your Aunt a heart attack, we need to finally get on the same page, which is a bummer because it was fun," Tony waves his hand as if trying to get himself back on track. Peter watches himself stop the car from hitting the bus and Tony nods, "Nice catch. That is you, right?"

Peter freezes, and looks at Tony who is trying not to smile and failing miserably. Peter laughs nervously, wringing his hands before crossing his arms and stuttering, "Uh no. What do you mean?"

Tony raises an eyebrow, "Look at you go. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour, did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?"

"Figure- figure what?" Peter crossed his arms. He didn't really understand why he was being so defensive, and why he didn't tell Tony outright but he was in too deep now to admit it. 

"Oh so there just happens to be this other kid who has the same powers as you, shows up at the same time, and stopped four guys at an ATM robbery tonight?" Tony asked, looking up at Peter. 

"You know that stuff is probably all fake anyway?" Peter splutters, pointing at the video and adjusting some things on his desk back to their original position. "Like on YouTube."

Tony nods, "Oh like those UFO's over Pheonix?"

"Exactly," Peter said turning around and freezing. Crap.

"Oh, what do we have here?" Tony was holding up Peter's suit that he had pulled out of the backpack Peter stupidly left on the floor. 

Peter snatched it out of his hands, "I- uh-"

"Kid, I knew since the very beginning," Tony sighed. "Come on, you even picked the name we decided. Although Spiderling and Crime Fighting Spider were the close second and third."

"Shut up," Peter grumbled, stuffing the suit back into his bag only for Tony to pull it out again. That happened twice more, each time more aggressive than the first, before Peter finally gave up and let him look at it.

"Nice onesie," Tony commented. 

"It's not a onesie," Peter said angrily. 

Tony picked up the goggles and put them against his eyes. "Lordy! Can you even see in these? Muaaa- ahhh-" Tony mocks, making a face before Peter snatches them away. 

"Yes, yes I can see in those," he says defensively. "Remember I told you-"

"Your senses dialed to 11," Tony recalls. "I was listening kid." Then he looks up at Peter sincerely, who's mind is still spinning. "You did good tonight," Tony said gently.

"Thanks," Peter said before his head snapped up, "Wait, what? Hold on, were you following me?" Peter snapped. 

"Don't go crazy on me. Ben called me. Said you weren't answering his or your aunt's messages. So I did a little hacking into May's phone- you're welcome," he added. "and then found your phone. Saw you take care of those guys nicely and then beat you home. You are faster than Cap, I'll give you that," Tony winked. 

Peter scowled, "I'm not thanking you."

"Oh, of course not. No need," Tony sniffed. "But why didn't you tell me kid?"

"I just-" Peter shook his head. "I- I don't know."

"And you were originally so opposed to the idea," Tony said genuinely, rubbing the back of his neck before asking, "Why are you doing this? I gotta know. What's your MO? What gets you out of that twin bed in the morning?"

"I sleep on the floor," Peter says quietly. 

"Is it because of what happened with Flash?" Tony asked, leaning against the wall. 

Peter sighed and put his head in his hands, sinking down onto his bed. "When you can do the things I can...but you don't...and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you. I've known that my whole life- I've had to take those consequences for nine years-" then he shook his head, rubbing his hair and muttering, "you wouldn't get it."

"Fine, then let me try. I think you forget who you're talking to every once in a while," Tony said gently, walking over and pointing. "I'm gonna sit here so move the leg."

Peter shifts his position and looks up at him guiltily.

Tony takes a deep breath, "You do it because for a period in your life you had to help the bad guys. So you want to fight them now. You feel like it will make up for the stuff they made you do because every night it eats at you and you hate it and you wish you could change your past. And don't lie to me, I know you say you're adjusting but your not. You're not only lying to other people, but you're lying to yourself. So having 'Spiderman' is something you don't have to lie to yourself about."

"I'm not-" Peter started, cutting himself off and muttering, "I'm fine."

"Don't-" Tony shook his head. "Kid, I know it's an act. You've gotten better, and I'm happy, but you've also gotten better at hiding it. You think you deserve the nightmares and the flashbacks and the memories even though you don't. And innocent people don't deserve it either, so you've decided you're ok with getting hurt if it means helping them. Saving them. But most importantly, you see this as an out, a second chance. Your believe you're already cursed, that Peter Parker can't change or become...normal, so you think of this as the real do over. This is your escape from your past. A chance to change."

Peter stayed quiet, his leg shaking.

Tony leaned back, his back hitting the wall and he sighed, "how close was I?"

"Scary close," Peter admitted. 

"I just described a year of my life," Tony said firmly. "I know what you're feeling. Iron Man was my way out, my second chance. My way to fix things and to make up for the crap I had done. And no I didn't care about dying, and no I didn't care about getting hurt. I was alive for some random reason. Because I had a job to do, and if I died? I thought so what? I would be making up for the millions of times I screwed up in the past. And maybe I still think that Peter, but you can't. I won't let you. Not you kid. You're better than that."

Peter looked up at him, affected by his words and he stared at Tony for a bit before averting his gaze. 

"So you want to do your part? Want to make the world a better place? Look our for the little guy?" Tony asks, enthusiasm in his voice again. 

Peter nods, more sure of himself, "Yeah. Just...looking out for the little guy. That's what it is."

"Who else knows? Anybody?" Tony asks before he says, "If anybody else knows I'm going to be extremely hurt that you told them and not me."

"No one else knows you drama queen," Peter slurs. 

"Good," Tony grins. "So can I talk to you about not wearing a sweatshirt and maybe-"

"No!" Peter laughs. "Not...right now."

"Why not?" Tony asks, "We just had the revelation of the century."

"I've got...homework," Peter says slowly. 

Tony rolls his eyes and slurs sarcastically, "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

"I'm being serious!" Peter spluttered. "I have a chem test tomorrow!"

"Yeah whatever nerd," Tony sighs, getting to his feet. "I have more important matters to attend to."

"Yeah right," Peter scoffs before he catches his arm. "I- I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just..."

"I know," Tony said, making eye contact with him.

Peter nods.

"You don't need to apologize," Tony assures him. 

"Thanks Tony."

"I will apologize for leading you on though. I just couldn't help myself. Did you really think I wouldn't find out? Day one Pete, day one, and then of course I had to get the team in on it," Tony laughed. 

Peter grumbled, "I just- that wasn't nice."

"It's called a practical joke Peter," Tony teased.

"Well we don't get many of those around here," Peter countered, sneering, "You're not funny."

Tony scoffed, messing up Peter's hair. "Shut up Parker, I'm hilarious."

The next day Peter got home normal time after school, too tired to go on a quick patrol. Also Uncle Ben was home today, and he wanted to spend some time with him; he had been on a business trip for the past couple days and had just gotten back.

"Hey Uncle Ben," Peter greeted as he entered, shoving his key in his pocket and putting down his bag. 

"Hey Peter. You want pizza tonight? May's finishing some things up at the office, remember she's got that trip in a week, so we're on our own for dinner," Uncle Ben said, setting down his paper.

"Pizza's good. Just no pineapple," Peter smiled. 

"Deal," Uncle Ben laughed. 

"I'm sorry I missed you this morning," Peter says, remembering he rushed out the door to get to school early. 

"Places to be son, I get it. You're a busy man" Uncle Ben assured him, going over to the fridge and opening it, a soft light flooding the kitchen. "You want some water?"

"Apple juice?" Peter asked, sinking down on the couch with a small smile.

Uncle Ben grinned, "Apple juice it is." He poured two glasses and walked over, handing one to Peter before settling down on the couch next to him. "How was school?" he asked.

Peter drank the glass in one gulp, "Fine."

"What about that kid who beat you up?" Uncle Ben suddenly said and Peter choked on the apple juice he was swallowing. 

His gaze snapped over to Uncle Ben and he stuttered, "W-what?"

Uncle Ben raised an eyebrow, "What, you think I'm dumb? I know you went to the Avengers Compound because you didn't want May or I to see what happened. You were still sporting a small black eye when you got back. I've had enough of those in my day to spot one."

"Oh," Peter said simply, wringing his hands over his cup. 

"So is he still giving you trouble?" Ben asked with concern.

Peter felt numb. He felt empty, but only because something was trying to push it's way in but he wouldn't let it. That's right- people cared about him now. Still weird... Peter rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head, "It was nothing, really. I'm just staying away from him now, should have done that in the first place."

Uncle Ben wasn't convinced but he let it slide and raised an eyebrow again, "What about you?"

Peter shrugged, hating how vulnerable he was now around his family. He opened up around family. That wasn't normal, that wasn't right. They could get hurt because of him. Peter kept his answer simple and strained, "Just...adjusting."

"Are you?" Uncle Ben asked quietly. Peter looked up at him and everything suddenly got 10 times more quiet. Ben put his hand up in assurance, "i haven't pried. I won't if you don't want me to. But it's been nine years Peter. You've seemed like you've snapped back but I know you haven't."

Peter forced a grin, clenching his shaking hands, "Guilty." Why was everyone asking him if he was ok? He wasn't. He probably would never be. And that was fine. There was nothing wrong with not being fine, as long everyone thought you were ok. That was his life, that's how he grew up. And as far as he was concerned, he wanted to keep it that way. 

"I-I can never truly understand what you went through. But Peter...you have us now. You have me and your aunt. If you want to tell us anything- anything at all..."

Peter looked down at the floor. "I-" Ben deserved this. He had to give him something. At least something. Maybe if he told him a bit, Ben would back off and not talk about it. When Peter had to talk about it, it was harder to fake. Better just leave it be so he could bury it, like he did with everything: shove it down so it couldn't surface. He had learned early not to scratch at that wall, and lately it was shaking, threatening to crumble down.

Peter had to chose his words carefully, "I haven't been sleeping much. And when I have it's on the floor. I didn't get a bed. And when- when I'm at school I sometimes have flashbacks- I'm back at that place..."

"What did they do to you there Pete?" Ben said, almost brokenly.

When Peter looked back up there were tears in his eyes. He shook his head. The wall was weakening. "I recounted that once too many times. I- I can't. I'm sorry. The things they did- the things they made me do... You probably wouldn't want me living here if I told you," he admitted sadly. 

"Peter," Ben said firmly, "I know a thing or two about HYDRA. Your father fought them for years. And your mother. I know what they're capable of. Nothing that has happened is your fault. And it's not you anymore...it never was."

Peter smiled weakly, his voice low and raspy, "A lot of people have told me that over the past couple weeks. But to be honest, I don't believe any of them. It's not that I don't want to-" Peter shook his head, "It's just, how can you know that for sure, if I don't even know myself? After nine years..."

"Peter-"

"Uncle Ben you don't know-" Peter shook his head. "I am _messed_ up. I'm screwed _up_ \- I'm sorry I came back- I'm sorry I came to ruin your life-"

"Peter," Uncle Ben said firmly, grabbing his shoulder, which jarred him out of his thoughts. It took everything in Peter to not instinctively glare and punch whoever had a grip on his arm. Only when the fire in his eyes faded did Peter allow himself to look over. "We're happy you're back," Ben said. "And nothing will change my mind about that, not anything you say, not anything you do. You understand me?"

Peter nodded slowly, his foot tapping against the ground. He tossed his head a bit to try and get rid of a slight ringing as that familiar shiver ran down his back, a headache starting that was a result of straining to keep flashbacks from seeping into his brain. 

"Your parents fought HYDRA Peter. I'm just sorry we couldn't save you from them. But you're not alone anymore. You don't have to do this by yourself," he said softly. 

"I'm not trying to," Peter assured him. "Just...when you've been...the things that happened down there, I was alone. And getting out doesn't mean I just snap back, you know? I'm trying to. But for nine years I pushed away people. It's become a habit. People who get close to me get hurt, and I just don't want you getting hurt because of me."

"We took that risk a while ago Peter, with your parents," Ben said firmly. "They knew what they were getting into, and they knew the consequences."

"Why did they do it?" Peter asked suddenly, turning to look at Ben, his forearms resting on his knees. "Why did they do it?"

"To help people," Ben shrugged. "They did a lot for their country, and for the world. Your parents had the power to make a difference and they used it well. They were good people and they had to make a lot of sacrifices, but in doing so they saved thousands of lives. They never had an easy life Peter."

"But isn't it...isn't there a stopping point? They had given enough. They had lost enough-"

"They had a responsibility Peter, to a lot of people. Just because you want to escape something," Ben smiled sadly, "doesn't mean you always can. With great power, comes great responsibility."

Peter looked up at him and nodded.

Ben placed his hand on his shoulder and this time Peter didn't flinch, "As much as they wanted to drop everything- they couldn't. I'm sorry they couldn't tell you that themselves."

"Yeah," Peter hung his head. "Me too." He realized his hands were shaking and his chest grew tight. His hand tightened around his backpack and he smiled weakly at Uncle Ben. "I'm gonna do some homework, ok? I'll be done soon."

"Pizza," Ben clapped him on the back. "And a movie. Indiana Jones?"

"Sounds good," Peter grinned, turning around and holding his breath until he got to his room. He locked the door, his shaking hands setting down his backpack as he lowered himself to the floor, his back up against his bed. 

Peter felt tears build in his eyes and he rubbed them away with his fists but they kept coming and he sat there with his head in his hands, trying to breathe with the pain in his chest. He clenched his fists, taking shaky breaths so Uncle Ben didn't hear him. He squeezed his eyes shut and shoved his head into the wood siding of the bed, gasping. His head was exploding with pain and Peter winced, so angry with himself for breaking. 

_Peter's head whips back from a punch to the face. He spits out blood and looks up at Hersh. His wrists were tied behind him and pain racked his body. He still no idea where he was or why. And God the pain..._

_"You're defiant Peter, I admire that."_

_"Just shut up with the compliments," Peter said angrily. "I don't even know who you all are."  
_

_"Your parents did," Hersh said._

_Peter snarled, yanking on his bonds. "I didn't even know my parents."_

_"I know you didn't," the man nodded. "Because my organization killed them."_

_Peter sucked in a breath, tears coming to his eyes as he screamed, "You son of-" The guard next to him punched him across the face, silencing his scream. Peter coughed again, anger making his vision red. "I hate you," he seethed, raising a fiery gaze._

_"Good," the man said. "Anger is good."_

_Peter was furious and he didn't know what to say to that. What could he say that this man couldn't use against him?_

_"You don't know what we can do to you Peter. Not yet," Hersh admitted._

_"Not yet- what the heck is that supposed to mean? Just tell me who you are and what you want!" he demanded._

_"You will know in due time," Hersh said._

_"Can you ever answer a question?" Peter snarled. "People are coming for me. You're so screwed. You're gonna go to jail for the rest of your life, you hear me?"_

_"Is that so?" the man smiled. "Do you even know how long you've been here?"_

_"Three weeks, give or take," Peter sneered._

_"Three weeks," Hersh shook his head with a chuckle. "Good guess."_

_"You're lying," Peter said, jerking in his bonds._

_"Think what you want Peter- actually, think what I want." Hersh slammed his hands down on the arms of Peter's chair and he flinched as the man got in his face, "You think people are coming for you? No one ever will. You think you can get out of here? You never will."_

_"Screw you," Peter said quietly, his eyes flashing._

_"You still have hope," Hersh said, straightening. "It's nice. It will be fun to remind you of this day. Take him."_

_Two men untied Peter who immediately started struggling, getting slugged in the stomach. They hauled him to his feet as Peter coughed, wincing but he managed to swear,_ _"You think you can break me? Good luck."_

_"I won't need it," the man smiled at him._

_Peter snarled, thrashing as he was dragged down the hallway. The lights were too bright and Peter's bare feet scraped against the ground. He whipped around, looking around the hallway, trying to steady his breathing._

_They kicked open a door and shoved him into a room with a chair in the center, with metal bindings. Peter was wrestled into it and no matter how hard he fought the clamps always closed. He was breathing hard, struggling to no avail, determined not to show fear._

_"You won't remember this," Hersh said, standing next to him._

_"Great, so I get to forget your ugly face?" Peter grinned. "Bite me."_

_Hersh smirked and looked over at the man by the controls. Pain spiked suddenly, firing down his back from his head and Peter arched his back- screaming._

Peter gasped and pushed himself backward, gripping the carpet and kicking his legs, his throat closing up and his chest tight. Peter couldn't take the ringing in his ears. A sharp pain flared in his head and Peter groaned, falling to his side and curling up on himself, holding his temples. 

_They dragged him limply down the hall and tossed him in the room. Peter hit the ground and he was dragged by his wrist all the way to the corner, feeling cuffs clamp around his wrists. He was shaking, covered in sweat, tears and blood. His muscles were on fire and he couldn't breath, his mouth dry._

_Peter tried to breath and found he couldn't. He couldn't even move. So he stayed where he was, pain rippling through his body, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head._

Peter straightened, running his hands through his hair. He turned to the side and Hersh was standing over him. "You think you can escape me Peter?"

Peter jumped, scrambling back and blinking. The room was empty. His heart was pounding. Peter was breathing hard, his eyes wide. He grabbed his backpack with shaking hands and opened it, taking out a worksheet and a folder. He took a pencil and the minute he put it to the page it snapped. It wasn't like he could read the paper anyway; everything was blurry. 

"Peter you doing ok?" his Uncle called, knocking on the door. 

Peter steadied his breathing and took a forced breath, ignoring the pain in his breath and calling out a convincing, "Yeah. Fine. Thanks Ben."

He let his paper fall as he put his head back up against his bed, closing his eyes, furious about the tear that slipped down his cheek. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it??? Please drop a comment and let me know, I love hearing what you all think <3 It means the world :))  
> Thank you so so so much for reading and stay tuned!! Things are about to ramp up muhahahaha that should scare you. Also please comment if you don't like pineapple pizza XD i had to add that lol  
> ANYWHO have an AMAZING DAY and stay tuned for the next chapter on the 23rd!!!!! I love you all 3000 <3


	12. ...Comes Great Responsibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok so today is the 23rd, which actually marks 1 year!!! from the day I posted my first fic which is C R A Z Y. I wanted to post this day specifically haha so that's why I actually had a structured date XD. Many thanks to these amazing people who have been with me since pretty much the beginning: make_your_own_world, mouth_breather011, anon, stiltsrosko, lolcupcake
> 
> And thank you to all who continue to leave comments that absolutely make my day and encourage me to write. You have no idea how much they mean, they always make me smile. You guys make it worth it and I just wanted to give a big big thank you thank you thank you to all of you. Your support means the world and I love writing for yall. Here's to many fics to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now into the fic!!!! CRAP IS ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN :) Ah we love writing.  
> There’s not as much Tony in this one, but there will be in the next one, I promise- but not for the best reason. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I really like it so I hope you do too!  
> Also here is an explanation why Peter only pays $5 at Delmar's in Homecoming, despite getting gummy worms too. Because it says the sandwich is $5 meaning Peter never paid for gummy worms in the movie. I hope that makes sense. Anyway yeah 😂 I love Mr Delmar. And I rly loved writing this for y’all!!!! I stayed up so late writing this so I could get it out today and I am very happy with the result. XD  
> Thank you all so so much for reading and sticking with this, it honestly means the world to me and you guys are the absolute best :) <3

Peter jumped out of his seat the minute the bell rang. He grabbed his phone and texted quickly, using his senses to swerve around people without looking up. Informing May that he was staying at school for a club meeting and then to study, Peter ran out the door ahead of everyone and looped around the back of the school, making sure no one was watching as he jumped the fence with incredible height. 

Landing perfectly he jogged down the street, sprinting in front of cabs to get to the other side. He walked down for a bit, remembering the rules Tony had set up for patrol. Nothing too big. Call if there were any problems. Get home before May got worried. 

He could work with that. _And_ that was just until Tony gave him his surprise...Peter still didn't know what that was but Tony had been working on it for a bit and was very excited, so Peter was excited too. He figured it was some freaking tracking device, or maybe a cooler mask, since Tony had been asking him about certain qualities of his powers. 

Whatever. He didn't know. Peter was about to turn into the alleyway when his stomach grumbled. He looked a block down and saw a sandwich shop and hesitated. Digging in his pocket he found some money in his pocket, a little over seven dollars and shrugged, jogging the block to the store. Delmar's Deli-grocery. He opened the door, the little bell on the top startling him as he opened the door. 

"Don't worry kid, it's not gonna bite," the man at the counter said. Peter smirked a bit. He would have glared if it wasn't for the comforting smile. "I haven't seen you around here before."

"Yeah," Peter nodded, looking at the menu hanging over the small kitchen in the back. "I just moved here," he lied. Well...technically it wasn't a lie. But it wasn't exactly the truth either. Didn't matter. Peter could lie without even blinking.

"Well welcome to Delmar's," he grinned, holding out his hand. "Best sandwiches in Queens."

"Thanks," Peter smiled, shaking his hand. 

"Firm grip you got there," Mr. Delmar remarked. "What's your name kid?"

"Peter," Peter smiled. "Peter Parker."

"Well Mr. Parker what can I get for you today?" he asked. 

Peter gazed at the menu, "Uh, a number five please. And with pickles and can you smush it down real flat?"

The man winked, "You got it boss. So do you go to MidTown?"

"Yeah," Peter nodded, getting distracted by some weird looking candies on the rack to the side. He picked one up and inspected it. 

"You like it?" the man asked, making his sandwich behind the counter. 

Peter shrugged, still looking over the candy, "Ah, you know, it's boring. I got better things to do."

"Stay in school kid, stay in school," the man chided. 

"Hey can I ask you a question, what are these?" Peter asked, holding up the candies. 

The man turned and laughed, "You've never had gummy worms before? Where did you live, under a rock?"

Peter looked down with a tiny sad smile, "In a way yeah."

"I tell you what, you get yourself two of those- on me. Never heard of gummy worms," the man tisked under his breath. 

Peter grinned, grabbing two packs and setting them on the counter, watching as Mr. Delmar wrapped up his sandwich. Suddenly there was a sound next to him and Peter's head shot to the side, stepping back, his hands curling into fists as his senses flared. A cat hopped down onto the counter, staring at him intensively. 

"Man you are jumpy kid," Mr. Delmar noticed. "That's just Murph." Peter relaxed and hesitantly scratched the cat's head. The man crossed his arms and smiled, "He likes you."

Peter grinned and pulled out the money he had. Mr. Delmar took five dollars of it and handed him his sandwich along with his change, refusing to let Peter pay for the gummy worms, like he promised. 

"Nice to meet you Mr. Delmar," Peter said, shaking his hand again. 

"You too Mr. Parker. I hope to see you around," he nodded. 

"Let's see how good the sandwich is," Peter joked. 

Mr. Delmar laughed, before turning to face his co-worker, "Buen chico. ¿No crees?"

Peter, who knew Spanish, turned as he walked out the door and called out, "Tú tampoco eres tan malo."

"Ahhhh," the man laughed as Peter walked out. 

He hurried down the street to make up for lost time and went into an alley, going towards the back and moving behind a stack of boxes to change into his spider suit. He shoved on his mask and webbed his backpack to the high wall. Then he bent his knees and jumped, shooting a web that yanked him into the air. Peter swung forward, scaling buildings until he got to a rather high rooftop. He crouched on the edge and looked around, wondering where to go first. He checked his watch. 3:11. He had time. 

**6:27 pm**

"Woah-" Peter ducked a swing, webbing himself to the far wall to avoid a spray of bullets that peppered the wall where he had been standing against. "Hang on, first off put that down- you're gonna poke someone's eye out."

Peter flipped, landing on a man and throwing him into the wall. He spun, webbing a trashcan and flinging it into one of the men with the gun before leaping out of the way. 

"How do jerks like you get weapons like this?" he marveled, sprinting to another wall and punching the nearest man in the face. He flipped him over the shoulder before tossing him away, kicking off the wall and planting his heel in an enemy's chest. Peter's kick sent him flying and he ducked, webbing the wall and sliding forward under a man's legs before webbing his back and yanking him down. 

Peter elbowed him in the face, tossing him to the side. He finally stood, when suddenly there was a swing that came from his left. Peter moved aside but then there was a hard hit that caught him across the head. The other man had snuck up behind him. Peter cursed, hitting him in the face.

”Ok, now I’m not happy,” he grumbled.

Then his phone rang.

Peter groaned and kicked the man in the chest, putting the phone to his ear. "Hey!"

_"Peter, I just wanted to make sure you were ok."_

"Yeah I'm doing great-" Peter said, spiraling and dropping to the floor as the man swung his fist. The other was scrambling for his gun and Peter's eyes widened as he webbed it and swung it far away, kicking him in the face and webbing his hand to the floor. 

_"Ok I- what's all that commotion?"_

"We're-" Peter yanked his wrist out of the man's grasp and webbed his face, elbowing him in the head. "We're in the gym- it's this fitness training-"

 _"I thought you were doing science,"_ May asked. 

Peter sighed, getting punched across the jaw. He glared at the man, "Oh you're gonna get it now."

_"What?"_

"Sorry, just a friend," Peter said, webbing the criminal's mouth shut. He ducked the next punch the guy drunkenly threw and tackled him, grabbing him by the jacket. Knowing he needed two hands he gasped out, "Hey give me 2 seconds, ok? I need to take care of just one little thing-"

Throwing the phone into the air as high as he could, Peter lept forward. He slammed the man into the wall and webbed his feet, flipping him upside down and attaching the top of the web to the rail. Peter flipped to grab his phone before it hit the ground and let out a sigh of relief. "Ok, back. We took a break. I'm sorry- I really have to go, this isn't the best timing."

_"Ok, well I also wanted to say goodbye. I'm driving to the airport right now-"_

"Oh yeah, you're trip thing!" he said energetically. He had forgotten about that. "I hope that goes well. Good luck," Peter said, pinning down a struggling criminal and shooting a no looker at the man trying to reach for the last gun. 

_"Aw, thank you Peter. I'll see you first thing when I get back. I won't have any cell service on the plane, so if you need anything tell Ben, ok?"_

Peter grinned, "Ok. I'll be fine. Promise. I'm heading home soon anyway but I do really have to go-"

 _"I'll let you get back to it."_ She seemed happy he was so engaged with science. _"Bye Peter. Love you."_

"Love you too," he said, clicking off the phone and landing an elbow on the man that was still struggling. He returned his phone to his pocket and rubbed his jaw before he looked around in triumph. "I should get an award for that."

He walked over to one of the criminals that had almost reached his gun before Peter webbed him. Peter picked up the gun and stared at it. He crouched by the man's side. "Look, I don't know guns, but I know you shouldn't have this one. How did you get it?"

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you freak?" the man spit, still struggling. 

Peter sucked in a breath. "Freak? Wow, I'm hurt. Look you can either tell me or I can make you tell me. Your choice."

"Screw you," the man snarled. 

Peter nodded, "Yeah I was afraid you'd say that."

"Hey!" 

Peter had heard that man coming. He turned and webbed him, but what he didn't know, whether it was out of sheer naiveness or just stupidity, was that there was another man to his left who slammed the butt of his gun against Peter's head.

_Peter hit the ground hard, coughing up blood._

_"If he gets up, hit him again," Hersh said._

_"When do I stop?" the guard asked, unsure._

_"When he does," Hersh replied, making cold eye contact with Peter._

_Peter watched him walk out and disappear behind the one way glass. He glared defiantly and looked up at the man who was ready to strike. Peter's hands were tied behind him and one eye was already swelling closed but he refused to give up that easily._

_With effort and got to his hands and knees before rising, lifting his head just as a hit connected with his jaw._

_Peter slammed into the ground, groaning, but fury made him strong. He curled his fists behind him, ignoring the searing pain...everywhere, and sat up again, only for the man to throw another punch, harder than the first._

Peter stumbled and shot a web blindly but his wrist was twisted behind him as another hit from the gun connected right in the center of his face. Trying desperately to get out of the flashback that was only making him weaker, Peter grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. 

_Knees scraping against the floor, Peter raised his head, this time ducking the punch and slamming his forehead into the man's groin. It made him stumble back which gave Peter enough time to scramble to his feet. But it wasn't so he could take down the other guard, which is what he could have done. He did it to make a statement, glaring coldly at the glass where he knew Hersh was watching._

_A small smirk appeared on his lips and it didn't leave until the man he knocked down growled in anger and clocked him against the head before kneeing him in the stomach. Peter fell and got kicked in the back, hitting the ground harder than ever. He mouth opened in a silent cry of pain and Peter squeezed his eyes shut on the ground before he slowly got to his hands and knees, shaking with fury._

Blood dripped down Peter's mask at the third hit and by the fourth, he was in no condition to fight. He hadn't been expecting that. He would never have fallen if it had been in the HYDRA base. He would have been stronger. He could have beaten them.

_This went on again and again and again and again- until Peter physically couldn't get up anymore and even then he didn't stop. It only stopped after the man had no strength to throw a punch, his knuckles bleeding so badly-_

_Peter lay, still struggling to move, to get to his feet one last time when the man collapsed. It had been minutes, hours, days it felt like. And when the man hit the ground, breathing hard, looking at Peter in disbelief, that's when Peter found his strength. He curled onto his side and rolled over onto all fours, coughing up blood. Peter could barely even see with the blood on his face, but he knew his heart was still beating and that enough bones were not broken for him to stand one last time._

_So he did. And he started right into that glass, where he knew Hersh was watching. His legs trembling, Peter smirked before crumpling to the ground and going unconscious._

He was out of practice.

Hersh would be mad.

Hersh didn't tolerate failure-

What was he saying? Easier to kill? He didn't want to kill anyone- 

Focus!

Snap out of it Peter-

Peter gasped, his eyes shooting open and he readjusted himself. One man had him by the shoulder. Whenever he got his bearings he suffered another head hit, making him dizzy and unfocused. Peter choked on air, spitting out blood as he looked up. 

"I don't know who you are," the man in front of him said, the leader, Peter could tell. 

"You're kinda missing the point of the outfit then," Peter rasped. 

The leader smiled in amusement, "You don't know what you're getting into kid."

"You kept my mask on," Peter remarked.

"I respect a man's identity," the man nodded honestly. "Some of my friends don't. So be careful not to piss them off."

"I'll do my best," Peter sneered.

"Stay out of my way," the man said firmly, crouching to Peter's level.

"Or what?" Peter snarled. 

"I admire your grit. You've got skills. But you have one problem. You don't want to kill people. You gotta learn to shake that."

"You giving me tips?" Peter snarled, testing out the grip on his shoulder by jerking forward a bit.

The man grabbed the cell phone that was on the ground; it had slipped out of Peter's pocket. It was just a flip phone. Ben had bought it for him until Tony brought him the new one. It was a gesture of trust and of kindness and Peter had appreciated it, knowing Ben seriously pulled for that money. The man snapped it in half effortlessly in his hand.

With an angry cry, Peter thrashed angrily, muttering, "You son of a-"

"You clearly don't learn. And I can't have kids in onesies ruining my well thought out operations," the man said, pointing a gun at Peter's head. 

He could take every single one of these men out. But in doing so he would kill them. All of them. Every last one. If he used what he learned, used the tools to become the weapon HYDRA made him to be, he could get out of this. There was no doubt in his mind that he couldn't and that scared him...it scared him what he knew he could do- what he was considering doing. 

When Tony found him in that place he had sworn that of he got out he would abandon those tactics. He buried them. They hadn't been out since, just spurts in dreams, memories of what he had done and what he was capable of doing, the person he could become. One hit perfectly placed to the nose to kill the one, an arm break for the other before using him as a human shield. He’d take the gun and feel the smooth side, tightening his finger around the trigger and pulling it. But even then he wouldn’t stop. He was taught not to stop.

Peter was shaking at the thought and he centered himself with a dee breath. He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't be what HYDRA made him to be.

So he said, "Do it then."

Peter pushed forward so that the barrel was up against his forehead. "There's enough blood on your hands already. What's a bit more," he dared.

He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't release that much red. He wouldn't have the same blood on his hands as Hersh wanted. Then they would win. Then he would be letting them win. 

The man laughed and his finger curled to tug the trigger. Suddenly there was a massive blast from the side and the man who had the gun to Peter's head was knocked into the wall and then a beam hit him in the chest. 

Peter looked left and ducked as someone swooped in. The grip on his shoulder was jerked away and Peter bounced up, kicking a man in the face, who was suddenly blasted with a hole through his chest right as he was a safe distance away from Peter. 

Peter turned to take care of the remaining men but there weren't any. They were slumped against the far wall with similar scorch marks in perfect circles. 

The Iron Man suit dropped down and Peter scowled. The glowing eyes stared at him for a bit in silence.

”So you talk? I talk?” Peter stuttered awkwardly. The suit blasted off to the top of the building and Peter watched him go. 

He sighed and bent down to inspect his phone which was completely broken- Ben was going to kill him. He kicked the man one more time for good measure before scaling the wall to the roof. The suit was waiting by the edge- he didn't even know if Tony was in it. He wasn't before. Peter kicked the ground and waited, hating how Tony made him be the one to start the conversation. The man was no doubt pissed, probably fuming at home in his lab, his arms crossed with a scowl on his face, a look of sheer disappointment. It pissed Peter off just thinking about it, but Tony had been up here, meaning he expected Peter to instigate the conversation or argument, rather, that was about to take place. He probably wanted him to apologize. That's not gonna happen. 

"Tear me up, go ahead," Peter sighed in annoyance. 

"What were you thinking?" Tony's voice hissed. 

"I had been tracking them for the past three hours," Peter said angrily. "They had _killed_ people, I had to stop them!"

"Had to stop them?" Tony repeated in shock before the suit raised a hand. "Steady Crockett, there are people who handle this sort of thing."

"Yeah?" Peter nodded, ripping off his mask in anger. He knew he looked like crap, but he didn't really care at the moment. "And where were they? If I hadn't stepped in-"

"We had an agreement," Tony's voice was firm. "I said nothing too dangerous."

"Who cares about the stupid agreement!" Peter shouted. "At 4 o'clock, one of those men was ready to shoot up a bank if I hadn't been there. You saw it for yourself!"

Peter hadn't exactly gotten a break in a while. For the entire afternoon he had been chasing this group around the city, discovering where they were going to hit next. One heist had gotten so bad that he had to call Tony who sent a suit to go fly and stop another job while Peter went to this one. Tony had stayed home, Peter had figured that out when the suit's helmet opened up to reveal it was a prototype suit. But he knew Tony was behind the scenes; the display inside the helmet showed him everything back at the lab, which was where he was now.

"These men would not have stopped," Peter said angrily. "They didn't care who got hurt or who got in their way."

"Peter he had a gun to your head," Tony's voice crackled through the speaker. 

"Yeah, I know that," Peter drawled. 

"And you don't care?" Tony spluttered. "You could have died!"

"So?" Peter couldn't stop himself. It was the honest question. 

There was silence, and that only made him angrier.

"You said it yourself Tony," Peter mumbled. "Spiderman is a way out for me, a second chance. And maybe you think I can be better than you, but I can't, ok? I'm not better. I never will be. But I saved people's lives today..." Peter felt tears coming to his eyes. He took a deep breath, a small sad smile creeping onto his face as he ran a hand through his sweaty hair, "and for one of the few times in the past nine years I felt _happy_ with who I was. Do you know how hard that is for me to say that? With what I've done?"

He shook his head and looked up at Tony with a fiery gaze, "So yeah, if I died, I really wouldn't care, because it was either that or killing all those men, and I don't want to be more of a murderer than I've been for half my life."

"Peter, if a solider goes into battle and kills the enemy, does that make him a murderer?"

Peter screwed his face up, "Don't-"

"Answer the question," Tony snarled firmly. 

"No," Peter said angrily. 

"Exactly," Tony urged. "If you had taken out those men tonight-"

Peter cut in, unable to stop himself. "No! You don't know what it's like-"

"Of course I know what it's like Peter! I've killed people. I've had to. Bad guys, good guys- and yeah it keeps me up, it makes me wonder if I'm actually helping the world or destroying it. So yeah, I get what you felt. You were given a choice and you chose the one that morally seemed right. But you know what Peter, sometimes you gotta chose the other one so that you can make that choice again and not get shot in the head," Tony hissed.

Peter stepped forward furiously and seethed, "You're acting like you know me, like you _get_ me. Well you don't Tony. You have no idea what I've been through."

"Fine," Tony said back, equally pissed. If the helmet had receded and he had actually been standing in front of him, his eyes would probably be narrowed like Peter's. "Maybe I don't know you. I guess I thought I did. But despite that fact, if you had died, that would have been on me."

"I'm not your responsibility!" Peter shook his head and scoffed.

"Yes, you kinda are kid! You were since we got out of that hell hole," Tony shot back. 

"I am _Not. Your._ _Responsibility_ ," Peter said with a calm voice, laced in anger, his hands curled into fists, his entire body shaking. "And I do not trust you. You and I are not some magical duo where I listen and you call the shots. You don't know me, so _back off Tony_."

He had no right to say that.

The silence that followed proved it.

But in his anger it had come out and it was too late to take it back. He refused to take it back. He walked towards the edge before turning around and snarling, "And you know what? If you even cared, you'd actually be here."

Peter was about to jump off the ledge when heard the noise of the Iron Man suit behind him, and something made him stop. 

"Well I guess we don't know each other as well as I thought we did."

Peter froze because that was still Tony's voice it was just...different. Not electronic, or muffled. It sounded like it was behind him. Peter turned and saw the suit had receded to Tony's neck. The man's face was calm, his mouth a tight line, with disappointment in his eyes. If the words had hurt, Tony didn't let it show, and because he knew how well Tony could hide things, Peter figured that was the case. Knowing that ripped him apart inside. 

"For the record?" Tony asked, his voice firm and straight. In that moment, Peter immediately regretted everything he had said. And the last line Tony said made it even worse.

"I even trusted you with scissors kid." Tony fired up his boosters and flew away, leaving Peter on the roof top alone. 

About twenty minutes later, Peter walked into the apartment. Ben was sitting on the couch reading the paper. Peter winced as he shut the door. 

"I called you," Ben said firmly. 

Peter hung his head. "I- I know. I tried to call you back-" He held up the broken phone. Ben's face stayed exactly the same, which made Peter even more guilty. "It was an accident- I'll pay you back Uncle Ben, I swear," Peter promised. "I'm sorry. I know it wasn't cheap-"

"No. It wasn't," he said firmly. Peter still doesn't think he blinked. 

"And I'm sorry I'm late, I lost track of time at school..." Peter hated lying to him; it was the worst feeling in the world. But it wasn't like he could tell the truth...

"This is getting unacceptable Peter," Ben said, setting down his paper and standing up to meet Peter in the center of the room. 

"I- I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again-" Peter said weakly. 

"Peter," Ben put his hand on his shoulder. "I was a high school kid too. I know you're not studying. I'm glad you've found friends, I am...but sneaking around and-"

"No but that's the thing Uncle Ben, I was actually studying-" Peter spluttered earnestly.

"Peter, I'm not about to barge into your private life," Ben said, cutting him off. "I just want you to know that you do have responsibilities. I know you've been through a lot, God knows I do. I'm not mad. I just need you to take things more seriously. The world is a dangerous place. May and I need to know you're safe. I'm not even going to ask about the bruises this time. Or do I have to?"

Peter looked down. He had cleaned off most of the blood, but he knew it was still noticeable. The most severe injuries were to his head- probably a concuission, but thank God those weren't visible.

"You should see the other guys," Peter said under his breath. 

"Peter, we need to talk," Ben said firmly. 

"We are talking," Peter pointed out. 

"You know what I mean kid," Uncle Ben sighed, and Peter remembered this wasn't the HYDRA base anymore. Not everyone was out to hurt him. He didn't need to have a quick retort ready at every turn. "You come home late. You break the first thing I give you. Half the time May and I don't know where you are. You start fights-"

"I don't start the fights!" Peter corrected furiously. 

"But from what I can tell, you end them," Ben raised an eyebrow. "I know that first time, that bully, he got the best of you. Maybe you never want that to happen again. I'm glad you're standing up for yourself Peter, I am. I know the kid probably deserved what happened, but just because you can beat him up, doesn't give you the right to."

"Ben, you have no idea what happened," Peter said defensively. Doesn't give him the right to? He thinks Peter beat them all to a pulp? Like he was in the wrong somehow? He didn't know half of it! Like how Peter was so distraught over hurting people that he had almost died. He had been prepared to take a shot to the head rather than hurt these people more than he had. And Ben was telling him it was his fault?

"And if I'm wrong I'm sorry-" Ben put up his hands in surrender. 

"Well you are wrong," Peter said furiously. "Very far from wrong. I could have done a lot worse but I didn't. I let them do this, after I kicked all their butts because I realized it wasn’t a fair fight. I got my butt handed to me because I didn’t want to hurt people. I am trying to adjust, I am. I’m trying to...change. But after nine years it’s not just just a flip of the switch. So don't lecture me on how to live my life Uncle Ben, I am not in the mood."

"Well I'm sorry you're not in the mood young man," Ben matched Peter's annoyance, "but it's about time we discussed your behavior."

"My behavior," Peter scoffed. 

"Yes," Ben said firmly. "I am glad you are here Peter, unbelievably glad. Your aunt and I love you so much. But this is now your house too, your family, and we need to have an understanding between the three of us."

"So what, I need to fix myself?" Peter bit his cheek angrily, nodding while he pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry I'm not the perfect kid you asked for. I'm a little screwed up if you haven't noticed. Nine years in a prison does that to a kid. My bad."

"Peter I'm not saying it's your fault," Ben said firmly, justly angry at how Peter was twisting his words and escalating the situation. "I'm just saying there are rules that need to be followed for your safety and so that you don't give May or I a heart attack every time you don't answer your phone because you shatter it."

"I told you it was an accident," Peter grit his teeth, his eyesight turning red, his heartbeat picking up. 

"And I believe you," Ben nodded. "But for the past 6 nights you have come home late-" he shook his head, as if unwilling to go on with the apparently long list of things Peter has somehow managed to screw up. "Peter, You have responsibilities now. You cannot go doing whatever it is you do-"

"You think I don't know that?" Peter asked. "You think I'm doing this to spite you? Yeah that's definitely like me. Hey, I'm gonna go drink with my friends now, let me just take out my freaking fake ID," he spluttered sarcastically. "Because that's totally what I've been doing every night. Ever consider the fact that I actually am working, that I am trying to adjust? Making myself a better person?"

"Your father had a philosophy that he stood by," Ben cut Peter off with a loud voice. "It worked out well for him and it was to not neglect his duties and to take every task seriously." Peter grit his teeth and glared at Ben as he continued. "He never once disobeyed an order- he followed through and he was a good man because of it," Ben said firmly, staring down at Peter. 

"If it worked out so well for him, why did he die?" Peter shot back. "Huh? Tell me that. Where is he then, Ben? He should be here to tell me himself. So where is he?"

"Are you-" Ben set his jaw and shook his head, speaking quietly, "How dare you?"

"How dare I?" Peter laughed without humor. "How dare _you_? My parents left me, knowing full well the danger they would put me in, put you both in, and they did it anyway. I don't call that heroism I call that stupidity. Maybe he should have disobeyed an order once in a while, because it got him killed. And mom."

"Peter-"

"No!" Peter yelled in anger. "When I was in that place, I was told a lot of lies. But the one thing I believed was true, was the fact that my parents knew they were putting me in danger."

"What are you talking about Pete?" Ben asked.

"It's Peter," he furiously corrected. "Hersh told me, they were given a choice. A choice to walk away and to not follow through with their mission. It was to investigate Albert Malik, the third Red Skull, whatever the heck that means, in Algeria. They threatened me, HYDRA gave them a choice. And it's pretty clear what they did. They went anyway."

Peter shook his head furiously, shaking in anger, "Because of that I was taken by HYDRA, because of them I was tortured, ripped apart and put back together for nine years, and for what?" He took a deep shaky breath, "You want to lecture me about morals? Me?"

"Did you ever consider the fact that this man, Hersh, was lying?" Ben asked.

"It doesn't matter. Even if he wasn't, they left, knowing full well they would be in danger. How does someone do that to a kid?" Peter yelled before he looked up at Ben. "And you want to compare me to my parents? To my father? I am _nothing_ like my father."

"Your father was a good man," Ben said, his mouth a tight line, his eyes filled with fury, but they didn't match Peter's. They could never match Peter's. No one could.

"Fine. Let's say he was, he died for his country, he saved lives-" Peter shrugged. "That could be true. Maybe it was. I don't know. I'm not even sure what is real and what is fake in my life- but even if he is the good man you claim he was, I would still be the _opposite_ of him. I am worn down. I have done some terrible things. Horrible things. Without blinking."

"What you did in that place has no relevance-" Ben started.

"It has all the relevance," Peter countered, "Because of what happened in there- that's why I am what I am. That's why I screw up, that's why I scare myself. Everyone is saying that they know me, but they don't. _You_ don't."

"Peter, we're your family," Ben said firmly. 

"That didn't know me for the most pivotal nine years of my life," Peter laughs without humor. "That didn't even know I was alive."

"Well I know you now," Ben says defensively.

"No!" Peter says, surprising himself with the amount of ferocity in his voice. "And I'm glad you don't. Ben, you- You. Don't. Know. Me," Peter hissed. "Stop pretending you do."

"Look kid, I know I'm not your father-" Ben said angrily. 

"Then stop acting like him!" Peter yelled. 

"Peter-" Ben's voice was broken. The anger was gone from his eyes. 

"Uncle Ben, I'm sorry," Peter said, breathing hard. "I just- I can usually hide it but- but I can't. I am not normal. I will never be...better. What happened in there, it changed me. And to come back, and to have so many people around me, saying they can 'relate' and they're 'here for me' it's- I'm not used to that! There are so many people here and I still feel just as alone as when I was in there. And you'll never be able to understand that. I never want you to. But don't- don't tell me who I am, or who I could be-"

Peter trails off, his mind spinning, not knowing what he's talking about anymore- everything's just spinning and so loud. 

He mumbles, "I'm sorry- I'm just trying to protect you. From me. I'm sorry."

He backs away and Ben reaches for his arm but Peter gives him a look, staggering back. "I- Ben please, just-" He shakes his head. It's a warning. His eyes are filled with fear and guilt. Regret. 

He was scared.

"I'm sorry." Peter runs for the door, opening it and sprinting for the hallway. His legs are pumping and Peter slams through the door to the stairs, knocking it off it's hinges. He hits the wall of the landing and crumples, staring at the door that's practically bent in half. Staggering to his feet, he looks at it in shock, before glancing down at his trembling palms that did the damage. He wasn’t even thinking, or trying to do that.

Look how much damage he caused- by accident. Peter bit his lip before running down the steps and hopping over the railing, free falling for a second. He shot a web last minute and caught himself. His feet skim the ground and Peter lets go, landing in a run, out the door and into the night. 

The lights are so bright, and Peter blinks, putting a hand up to lessen the glare. The horns blare and every scuffle of someone's feet makes his head hurt. The world is spinning as Peter turns left and right, trying to stay on his feet. Peter brush past him, hitting his shoulder and he stumbles, breathing hard. 

He picks a direction and starts walking, his head pounding, ringing blaring in his ears, his eyesight fuzzy. He gets into a slow jog and then starts running, his hair blowing in his face, everything a blur as he goes faster, sprinting, his legs picking up speed as he pushes past people, just running, escaping- 

Escaping himself. 

His chest his burning and his muscles feel like they are being ripped apart but he knows it's psychological. HYDRA had taught him to keep running and never stop, he had run hundreds of miles without dropping. This was nothing. Peter slows, putting his hands on his knees, surprised to find himself slightly winded. He punches his side, brushing it off, but he feels that nudging inside of him.

_"You understand why we're doing this, yes?"_

_"To make me stronger," Peter says almost robotically. It hurts but it's numb now. He's used to it. It's become normal._

_Peter gets to his feet._

_"You will not fail this time, will you Peter?"_

_"No sir," Peter says firmly, his eyes set ahead._

If he let it lose he could run a million more miles without dropping. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't.

_"What we have taught you, only you can access this power. When the time comes you will need to use it. Will you?"_

_"I-"_

_Wrong answer. He knew it. Hersh knew it. He knew what would happen._

_The man's voice was cold and full of disappointment, which disgustedly made Peter somehow feel guilty, like he had let him down. "Again."_

_"No wait-"_

Peter gasps, staggering a bit and pushing himself into the nearest alleyway, scrambling on his hands and knees to the wall. He's breathing hard, unable to see, unable to think straight. 

_"When was the last time you ate Peter? Or drank?" Hersh asked._

_Peter was shaking in the corner, sweat dripping down his face. He took a shaky breath, barely able to control his own movements. "You have all those facts. You're just asking me to piss me off."_

_"Do you want to eat Peter?" Hersh asked._

_"Wow, you really- are-" Peter gulped, wincing in pain, "you are an idiot. I'll take a steak and mashed potatoes. Medium rare if you- don't mind."_

_His stomach felt like it was being ripped apart. His mouth was so dry every word was like scraping a rake down his throat._

_"You're wondering what we did to you," Hersh says._

_"Oh great, you're a mind reader," Peter slurred._

_"Your metabolism requires almost three times as much food as a normal human. Not feeding you for the same devastating time period means...painful results."_

_"Genius," Peter croaks out, tears coming to his eyes._

Peter grabs his stomach, curling up on himself, putting his hands between his knees. What was wrong with him? First Tony, then Ben...God Peter, can you do anything right? 

"I always screw up," Peter cried out to himself. "I warned Ben, I told him I always screw up. I told Tony- they didn't listen. This isn't my fault-"

There was suddenly a sharp pain in his stomach and Peter cried out, slumping against the wall. He curled his hands into his fists and swallowed on a dry throat, barely able to breath his chest was so tight.

"Did I say you could sit down?"

Peter's head snaps to the side and he sees Hersh leaning against the wall in the back of the alley. He scrambles away, shaking his head, blinking, but Hersh is still there, and he's pissed. He walks forward, fury in his eyes. 

Peter's scrambling backward on his hands and knees, tears coming to his eyes in pure fear, resilience gone as it sometimes was because of the things Hersh did to make him fear him. 

"Did I say you could stop Parker?" Hersh screams, storming forward. 

Peter's arm buckled and he fell flat on his back covering his head before he froze. _Parker._ Hersh never knew his last name. And if he did he never called him by it.

 _Tony_ was the first one to call him by it. Peter felt something click at the mention of Tony's name and he found the courage to unwravel his arms from his head. Hersh never called him by that name. Tony did, when they were joking around, or when he was mad, or he added a 'Mr.' in front of it to be humorous. Calmed, Peter took a deep breath, still looking at the wet alley floor he was laying on.

Peter looked up shakily at the empty alleyway and he took a deep shuddery breath, wincing at the pain in his chest. He got to his feet, leaning against the closest wall, breathing hard. He needed to keep moving. He should go back home. Ben was probably worried about him, or he came out after him.

Peter turned back around and started walking. He loses track of time, he barely knows where he is, but he knows he sprinted straight the entire time, so he figures if he keeps walking back he'll get to where he needs to go.

His mouth is dry and it's getting dark. Almost pitch black but Peter can still see. The lights are still making his head hurt, more than usual because of the concussion. He puts his hands to his temples and keeps walking, but when he sees a store he can't resist. Cursing himself for being so weak and pulls open the door to the store, the small bell resonating in his head. 

Peter makes a beeline for the drinks and grabs a bottle, before also grabbing a protein bar, the same kind Tony had given him on the jet when he first met him. He staggers to the counter and puts them sloppily down, taking a shuddery breath. 

The man makes a face at him before slurring out, "Two twenty."

Peter grabs the change he has out of his pocket from Delmar's and puts it on the counter. He'd got $2.15. He looks up at the man and speaks slowly, "Look dude, I had a really hard day. It's a nickel. Do you think you could just-"

"Sorry buddy. Don't have it, can't buy it," the man says smoothly, as if that's their motto.

"It's five cents," he reasons. 

"Not my problem," the man counters, clearly getting annoyed.

Peter's shaking. That's how dehydrated he is. He didn't realize it before, but the room was actually spinning. He hadn't felt this bad in a while, and Peter prayed flashbacks wouldn't take over in the middle of the store. He's also starving. He had been unable to eat his sandwich with everything that had happened this afternoon so he hadn't eaten since school lunch. His stomach was killing him. He wasn't used to this since he was back at the HYDRA base. 

"I'll come back with the money- please, I just really need-" Peter says weakly. 

"Not a chance," the man says, choosing for him and taking back the protein bar, tossing Peter his change along with the water bottle. Peter fumbles it and it drops to the floor. "Move buddy, you're holding up the line."

Peter moves to the side to pick up his stuff and as he does he sees the man behind him walk up. Despite being dehydrated and starving, Peter's spider senses still work. He sees the gun tucked in his jeans when his coat shifts. The man reaches to put his stuff up on the counter and then tucks his coat back over it. But Peter saw it. He looks at the man intently, glaring, unsure of what to do. Curling his fists, not in the mood to fight, Peter decides to let it play out, picking up his coins with his shaking fingers. The man puts a box of crackers on the counter along with a couple packs of gum, and then he trips. His things roll of the edge of the counter before the cashier can catch them. 

"I'm so sorry," the man splutters. "I-"

"Really dude?" the cashier spits, bending down to pick all the things up that he had dropped in annoyance.

Peter gets to his feet then, using the counter just as the man reaches over and grabs all the cash out of the cash register. Peter almost goes to web him, to drop him, to do something, but then the man winks at him, putting a finger up to be quiet. He smirks and tosses him the bar that the cashier wouldn't allow Peter to have.

In shock, Peter catches it and the man grins again, giving him a nod, before backing towards the door quickly. 

"Hey! Stop him!" the cashier yells, straightening and seeing the empty tray. He scrambles around the counter but it's too late.

Peter tucks the energy bar into his pocket, adrenaline kicking in but he can't move. No- that’s not it. He _could_ move. He's _telling himself not to_ as the thief pushes through the door and sprints down the street, out of sight within seconds. Peter let him get away. 

"What's wrong with you?" the cashier yells at Peter who jumps, startled. "You saw the whole thing," the man demands. "You could have stopped him!"

Peter's stare is empty as he stumbles for the door. He remarks mockingly, "Not my problem."

The man scowls as Peter backs out and starts walking fast, just in case that dude decided to beat him up. Honestly, Peter would have let him. He staggers, opening the water bottle with difficulty and guzzling it down before eating the protein bar in a couple bites, only a few steps from the store. Having something in his stomach makes him feel a little bit better and Peter finishes off the water bottle. 

He's walking when suddenly the hairs stand up on his arm. 

Peter stops walking, freezing in his tracks and someone bumps into him behind him. 

His eyes narrow. 

He sucks in a breath.

He doesn't see it exactly. 

But he hears it. 

Peter tenses, his eyes widening.

**_BANG_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Don't kill me just yet, ur gonna be even more mad when I post next chapterrrrrr  
> Anyway thank you so so much, and please drop a comment and tell me what you think!! I love hearing from you guys. I hope you all have a wonderful day and stay tuned for the next chapter! It's coming soon! Muahahaha yall are NOT gonna like meeeeee but I love you all 3000 <3 <3


	13. Red Stains and Broken Mirrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well we've got an absolutely fantastic chapter here for yallll I hope you like it because i think this is the one I wrote and rewrote the most but I'm pretty happy with the result. Also we love supporting characters that depending on how you guys like them may or may not return for later chapters :) :) :) (let me know if you want to see a certain EMT again after you read the chapter)  
> Sleep has not been kind, and neither has life or school so I apologize for the slight delay???? :(  
> I love all of you and I am so grateful for everyone reading so thank you thank you thank you and I hope you enjoy.

The gunshot echoed along the street, and many screams followed it. Peter didn't even flinch, but his senses were on high alert, his fists clenched, his eyes focused straight ahead. Once the sound died, Peter could breathe again, but his chest was tight with fear, remembering the gun the robber had. The man he had let get away. 

No. No, no, no, no-

He started walking, his feet hitting the ground harder and harder as he picked up speed, pushing past people trying to run the other way. Peter swerved around them and kept running, sprinting the first block and the second. Seeing a large group ahead of him, Peter skids to a stop at the rim of the crowd. It's right on the street corner and Peter's not tall enough to see over the sea of heads. The thought of it being an innocent victim made Peter's stomach churn.

He swallowed and snagged someone's arm who was backing away from the crowd. "What happened?" he demanded. 

"Some guy, a robber, came sprinting from a couple blocks down. He tried to make this guy get out of his car over there- when he resisted he pulled a gun-" the man shook his head, walking quickly away, obviously not wanting anything to do with the shooting. 

Peter dove into the crowd, shoving past people angrily, utterly despised with himself. He had let this happen, Peter realized in despair. He had been so careless and stupid and someone had gotten shot because of him. He had let that robber go, without even skipping a beat, and now some innocent person was bleeding out on the sidewalk. 

Peter finally pushed through, stumbling into the center.

Everything stopped.

And when he said everything, he meant _everything_. His breath hitched in his throat and his lungs suddenly clenched. His heart stopped beating completely- even the pounding in his head, which had been with him since he could remember...gone. Everything completely froze. But it was hardly peace. It was far from peace.

It was shock.

It was pain.

It was disbelief, unlike anything he had never felt before, even after everything he had gone through for 9 years in HYDRA. 

His muscles tensed and Peter couldn't move. His entire world suddenly collapsed in on itself, crippling him instantly. 

"No," he sobbed suddenly, his fists clenching despite his body going slack, his breath getting caught in his throat.

"Kid step back," a man from the circle said gently, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder and trying to guide him away from the awful scene the teen's eyes were glued to.

"No- get- that's-" Peter shoved the hand off desperately, his eyes wide and scared, filled with fear. "That's my Uncle! _That's my Uncle!_ " Peter pushed forward, falling to his knees in horror beside Ben's side. 

There was so much blood- too much blood. Uncle Ben was gasping, coughing as a red stain spread across his chest, the blood soaking the material and flowing onto the sidewalk, trickling through the cracks. 

"Uncle Ben," Peter sobbed, his hands hovering over his Uncle's chest. For the first time in a long time they shook. 

"Peter-" Ben choked out, his mouth filled with blood. His eyes finally found Peter after a lot of aimless searching.

"I'm here," Peter cried, pressing both hands to the bullet wound, feeling the warm sticky blood seep through his clasped fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated, steadying his shaking hands. "I'm here," he said firmly. "You're gonna be ok. You're gonna be ok," he said, nodding at Ben with assurance.

"Someone call an ambulance!" Peter screamed over his shoulder, tears building in his eyes. A woman replies that medics are on their way but Peter can barely hear her. His hearing is muffled, his eyesight fuzzy. 

Ben's smiling at him sadly, his breathing getting more shallow, blood pumping freely through Peter's hands and he can't stop it, no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop it. His Uncle is dying in front of him and it's all his fault. He can't even save him. He can't even fix what he did. 

"Peter-"

"No," Peter snarled at Ben, surprised at his own anger, before realizing it wasn't anger, it was desperation. It was him grabbing onto anything he could to keep himself from drowning in the inevitable truth. It was utter and complete denial.

Peter shook his head stubbornly as he continued to try to stop the bleeding, "No, you're gonna be fine. Just hang in there Uncle Ben, ok? Please- stay with me. You're gonna be just fine."

"Peter." Just his name again. Only his name. That's it. There was pity in the man's voice. Sorrow. Sadness. Guilt. 

"No-" Peter looked at him with tears obscuring his vision, his shoulders heaving as he stared at Uncle Ben's fading gaze. "I'm sorry- Ben, I'm so sorry-" he gasped out, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry- Uncle Ben-" His head was spinning so fast he couldn't concentrate. Even breathing hurt. 

His uncle reached up and put his hand on top of Peter's, smiling slightly, his eyes crinkling. 

"No-" Peter cried out, shifting his hand position as a wave of blood poured over his knuckles. "No- no- no-"

Ben's eyes closed and his head fell to the side, his hand sliding off his nephew's knuckles. It hit the pavement as Peter's mouth opened in a silent scream. 

"Ben?" he called out weakly, still keeping pressure on the wound, his hands covered in blood. Peter's head was spinning, a roaring gradually filling his ears. Adjusting his position, he choked on the next breath he took.

"No- no, no, no-" Peter swore, shaking his head violently as he whispered, "Ben?"

Shaking now, Peter bent his head down, squeezing his eyes shut which promoted tears to slip down his cheeks.

"God-" Peter's voice broke. His hands started shaking and he looked back up at Ben's motionless body. Trembling in anger, his eyes wide with disbelief, a lump in his throat, he screamed, his throat scratchy, "BEN!"

Nothing. 

He had heard the sirens a couple blocks away, but refused to move, still calling Ben's name, his hands covered in his Uncle's blood. The ambulance pulled up and there was shouting and yelling, shuffling of feet all around Peter as people were forced back. A large circle was created around him, but Ben was in front of him, and that was all he was focused on. 

"Kid, we need you to move," someone said gently, crouching by his side. 

"I'm not leaving him," Peter said firmly, staring at his Uncle's unmoving form. Three men knelt by Ben's side and reached for his uncle's shoulders. Peter immediately snapped alert, lunging forward to shield him, crying, "No, don't touch him-"

A man crouched next to him grabbed Peter's shoulders roughly, yanking him towards him, "Hey, kid, look at me. Look at me!"

"We're losing him. He's barley got a pulse-" one of the men calls, hovering over Ben.

"They're helping him, they're trying to _help_ him," the man holding Peter hisses. "You gotta let go kid."

He was referring to Peter's fist that was curled around Ben's jacket. Peter slowly obeyed, his fingers uncurling as they fell to the side. The man turned him, and he tore his gaze away from his uncle to look the EMT in the eyes. There's commotion behind him and the shuffling makes Peter wince.

"What's your name?" the man asked. It wasn't out of pity; it was a genuine question. 

"Peter," Peter said, stuttering, trying to turn around again to see what was going on, "That's- that's my uncle."

"Peter," the man repeated, "I'm Keith. I'm gonna get you out of here ok?"

"I said I'm not leaving him," Peter said firmly, looking over his shoulder. A weird shiver went down Peter's spine. Everything was in slow motion. The sounds were muffled. Peter was suddenly freakishly calm. What was wrong with him? 

"I know," Keith nodded and Peter's gaze locked onto his again. "I'm not asking you to. You'll be right next to him, I promise. But we need to get your Uncle to the hospital. Come on kid, you'll be in the same ambulance."

Peter nodded. Why did he nod? What was wrong with him? If there was one thing Peter hated, it was being vulnerable, letting his guard down. He was taught to never do that. It was what always screwed him over every time. But when it came down to it, he did it. He wasn't supposed to feel. He wasn't supposed to be taken by surprise, or how emotion- which was why whenever Tony, or anyone, commented on his smile, or him being happy, he killed it. He wasn't supposed to be like this- to be so vulnerable in a time like this. So why was he?

"Peter, are you hurt?" Keith asked him for the second time, but he didn't hear him the first.

Peter numbly shook his head as he got to his feet, looking down at his hands that were covered in blood. "N-no. I'm fine." Keith tried to put Peter's arm over his shoulder but Peter shoved him off, "I can walk. I'm fine."

He staggered forward as Keith opened the doors to the ambulance. Peter gripped the railing and pulled himself inside, feeling his hand slip. When he looked back he saw it was because it was covered in blood, leaving a smear on the rail. Peter collapsed down onto the small bench on the side, staring at his palms. Blood covered every inch of them, even under his finger nails and he realized it didn't just stop there, but covered his shirt and legs too, his knees soaked in them from where he had been kneeling. 

They brought Ben on in a stretcher and soon the ambulance was crowded, Keith specifically blocking Peter's view, not that he needed to; men were already surrounding his Uncle who had an oxygen mask over his face. Screaming filled his ears and Peter attempted put his hands to his ears before remembering they were covered in blood. He settled with his elbows, screaming his eyes shut and ducking his head down, pressing himself against the wall. 

"Is he gonna be ok?" Peter asked Keith, trying not to let his hands touch anything even though he wanted to rip his hair out or cover his ears so he didn't have to hear the heartbeat monitor that was blaring in his ears or wipe the two tears he had somehow let slip.

"He's gonna be fine," Keith said with a sad smile. 

"Don't lie to me," Peter snarled, glaring at the man. He didn't care that it was mean. He really didn't.

Keith flinched at that and nodded in understanding. But he didn't answer and that was not the answer Peter wanted.

He had lost track of time. Peter had just sat there with his eyes over Keith's shoulder, focusing everything on the heartbeat monitor that he could barely still hear. There was a lot of yelling- or maybe it was just because everything was muffled for some reason. He had only had this happen once before, and it was when someone pulled the trigger right by Peter's hear. With his enhanced senses he had temporarily lost hearing, but the gunshot was far enough away he hadn't been affected by it. So what was it? 

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, his hands hovering over his head and ears, wanting so bad to just clamp them down but he found himself unable to, disgusted by the blood that coated his hands, a horrible reminder of what he had caused- of who was on that stretcher because of him. 

He could barely see Ben and at this point, which scared him because he couldn't see the heartbeat monitor. But he saw a man start CPR and then someone grabbed the defibrillator off the wall. That's when he lunges forward and fights off Keith, trying to shove past and get to his uncle. He didn't know what he would do when he got there, but after everything he had done, with everything he was capable of doing, with all the powers he had, Peter felt useless. Absolutely useless.

"CLEAR!"

Holding him back, Keith was screaming at him; Peter could see his mouth moving, but he couldn't hear him; his ears had begun to ring. Keith had to push him against the wall of the ambulance, a gentle grip but forceful, keeping him in place. Peter screamed back, not knowing exactly what he was saying. He knew Keith was right and that was the only reason he wasn't using any strength. With adrenaline and anger coursing through his veins, _he_ was his only restraint at the moment, stopping himself from possibly killing the man just to get past him.

Peter knew he shouldn't interfere, but that just made him more mad. Infuriated, he slammed his fist into the side of the ambulance and made a dent. If Keith noticed the inhuman strength, he didn't show it. He had been talking to him the entire time, as if he was some traumatized kid who needed to be counselled, like he was in shock or something.

Maybe he was.

Peter sees so much commotion, all of the figures blurring together as he blinks, trying to focus. Meanwhile, they're still driving, cutting corners and he can feel the vibration of the siren. Eventually the ambulance stopped and the doors were yanked open. Peter put a hand up to shield his eyes from the blight lights as people reached inside the ambulance and grabbed Ben's stretcher, pulling it off and placing him onto a rolling cart.

"Adult male. Gun shot wound to chest."

"He's fading fast-"

"We're losing him-"

"He's been in and out 7 times-"

"Suffering from major blood loss-"

"Keep up chest compressions-"

"Make sure the oxygen mask is on tight-"

Peter clambered off of the ambulance and followed Ben quickly, Keith right behind him. The men in front shoved through the doors and Peter stumbled after them, keeping his eyes on the stretcher. Ben's chest was covered in blood; he could see him every couple of seconds when the man pushing the cart shifted his position. 

"We're losing him- we're losing him-"

"No-" Peter said, sprinting forward, shoving past some nurses to keep up with the stretcher. He eventually caught up, his eyes glued to Ben's unmoving form, "Is he gonna be ok? Is he gonna be ok? Someone talk to me!"

The men and women paid him no attention as he ran along side them, looking at Ben who wasn't breathing, someone on top of him performing CPR, an oxygen mask strapped to his face, needles already in his arm, blood covering the entire cart.

"We haven't got a pulse-"

"He's been gone for 3 minutes-"

"I can't get him back-"

"I don't know what else we can do-"

"Get that kid out of here-"

Someone grabbed Peter around the waist and he fought them, thrashing in their grasp as his uncle got farther and farther away. "NO! Ben! BEN!"

Keith was there and he stared him in his eyes, "KID! They need to help him, they're doing everything they can- listen to me Peter-"

"That's my uncle!" Peter screamed in fury, his eyesight going red. Anger bubbled in his chest and Peter curled his hand into a fist. He could knock Keith flat on his back, flip the grown man over his shoulder and slam him into the wall. He could go after Ben- No-no-no- he can't let it out, not now. He refused to. He wouldn't hurt anyone else. It was his fault that robber had gotten away. It was his fault that Ben had gotten shot. It was all his fault.

"I know he's your uncle," Keith said firmly, snapping Peter's attention back to him. "But if you care about him, you'll stay back here. They are doing everything they can to save him, but you being there will not help. I need you to trust me."

"I don't trust anyone-" Peter seethed, using every last ounce of control he had to stop himself from letting that dam break. It scared him but he was too numb to be scared. It made him angry, but anger felt normal at this point. He hadn't even realized he must have looked terrifying, screaming and yelling in that hallway, covered in blood.

"Well then give me the benefit of the doubt," Keith hissed back. 

"Is he gonna be ok?" Peter demanded from him. Part of him already knew the answer. It was unfair to ask the man the question he did. But then again, when was life ever fair?

"I don't know-" Keith said dismissively, still trying to push Peter back behind the doors. 

"No, you tell me! Is he gonna-" Peter screamed furiously. 

"I DON'T KNOW!" Keith yelled back, matching Peter's volume. "Kid I-"

"He's not, is he?' Peter said, locking wrists with Keith, wrestling for the upper hand, the man visibly surprised by his strength. Peter was shaking in anger and he nodded sadly, "He's gonna die, isn't he? And it's all my fault."

"It's not your fault kid," Keith said, looking at him with such pity. If only he knew. If only he knew what Peter had done. Furious with himself, he angrily pushed the man away and stormed down the hallway to the lobby. 

He bee-lined for a seat, feeling his legs give out and flinched at voices in his head, screaming for him to keep going because they didn't tell him he could sit, they didn't tell him he could stop-

Peter slumped into a chair and clasped his trembling hands between his knees, resting his forearms on his thighs. They were covered in blood still and Keith brought over a towel for him, patting him on the back. He backed away before motioning to a security guard, clearly telling him not to let Peter get through just in case he tried to make a run for it.

But he wouldn't. Peter sank into the seat, lowering his head, aimlessly rubbing the towel over his hands, red staining the towel but not truly leaving his palms, just smearing it around. 

He stayed like that for a while, his head spinning, the noises around him almost making him go insane. Peter rubbed the towel furiously until his hands burned and he couldn't deal with the sting anymore. He let the towel drop and it revealed how bad his hands were shaking. 

What was wrong with him? Why was he like this? Peter couldn't breathe. And for the first time it _wasn't_ because he was being held under water, or being gripped by the throat, or having flashbacks to either of those things. It was him. Something was wrong with him. He was the problem. He was always the problem. 

But now- Ben- he had never meant for this to happen. He could have stopped that man, but he chose not to- why didn't he stop him? His uncle's blood was on his hands, his arms, his clothes, literally, and figuratively. Peter had made a mistake. He had failed. And someone he loved was dying.

"Peter?" 

He looked up and Keith was in front of him, along with a doctor. Peter looked up with tears in his eyes, his gaze first flicking to the clock. He had been sitting there for at least 10 minutes. He had checked when he walked in. Peter almost laughed at that realization. Even in the worst time of his life, HYDRA still left it's mark. Some habits never died. That place ruined him more than he could ever know.

Staring at the doctor fumbling on his words, Peter's heart clenched. The man was unsure of what to say but Peter already knew. He looked down, choking on the next breath he took and holding it in until his lungs burned. 

"I'm so sorry kid, we did everything we could-"

Peter's eyesight turned red when he opened his eyes again, staring at the floor. His hands curled into fists. His breathing suddenly picked up. Something clicked in his head, a switch- a switch he never wanted to turn. He immediately flicked it back but it was too late.

"Your uncle didn't make it Peter, I'm so sorry."

He simply nodded, wondering why it didn't hurt more, and terrified of how painful it was all the same. 

Keith put a hand on Peter's shoulder but he shrugged him off. "Leave me alone. Please. I need- a minute-"

"When you're ready kid," the man said gently, motioning to the doctor who gave Peter one last look of guilt as he turned and walked down the hallway. 

Breathing hard, Peter shoved himself up from his seat and sprinted, running for the nearest restroom. The hallway was deserted and Peter somehow managed to turn the handle to shove himself inside, breaking off the knob without meaning to. Peter clenched it in his hand and it bent immediately.

He clutched it hard, letting out a yell through clenched teeth as he threw it and it sank into the wall, part of the tile breaking off and hitting the ground. Peter curled his fist and punched the mirror right in the center, shattering it instantly, shards digging into his knuckles and he didn't even care. 

He didn't even feel it. He was trained not to. 

Peter punched the wall again and again, his eyes narrowed, horribly focused, until the board of the mirror fell off as well. He punched right through the sink, the tile breaking and littering the floor beneath him. Peter grit his teeth to keep from letting out a scream as he slammed his fist into the wall and kicked the trashcan, embedding it in the stone.

Peter whirled, slamming his elbow into the changing station, making a dent in it. He yanked the paper towel dispenser down and threw it as hard as he could at the toilet which promptly exploded. He shot a web to stop the spray before storming over as it started leaking out a small stream of water. Peter effortlessly bent the exposed pipe to stop the water flow. 

Peter punched the wall again, and again, and again- he punched it until he couldn't anymore, his knuckles bloody before he finally fell to the ground in the center of the room, on his knees, staring at his hands. 

The room was a mess, like a hurricane had come in. And Peter had been holding back. He sat there shaking, his hands still stained red and Peter completely lost it with himself. What was wrong with him? What had he done?

Tears streamed down his face and he couldn't even wipe them away, unable to look at his hands that were covered in dried blood of the man he had killed. Peter collapsed in on himself, his shoulders heaving, sobs racking his body as he squeezed his eyes shut.

If this was what it was like to feel, Peter wanted no part of it. It was a pain he had never felt. He would take a lifetime's worth of torture from HYDRA, he would rather be still in there, then to feel this. In that moment, Peter wished he had never gotten out.

Twenty minutes later Peter was sitting in the lobby chair, shaking, unable to move. The wing he had run into had been under construction and Peter had snuck back to the lobby without anyone knowing the damage he did to the bathroom. He sank down into his seat and used the towel Keith had given to him to cover his hands. He was in shock, pure shock, and he didn't what else to do. He had sat there this entire time, without thinking a thing. Every person that walked by made him flinch, every time the doors opened he looked over his shoulder.

He didn't know what to do. 

So Peter just sat there.

Soon enough, a lady came over and sat hesitantly next to him. She held up a clipboard and asked, "Are you Peter?"

"Yes," he said in a raspy voice, licking his lips and clearing his throat. It hurt to talk, to breathe. To exist. 

She grimaced at his demeanor and spoke, "I know this is a very hard time for you, but could you maybe answer some questions for me Peter?" 

"Can I see him?" Peter asked numbly, unable to feel anything at this point. His hands were clasped, wringing the towel that was stained red. He stared blankly ahead, his voice weak and cracking.

"I don't know if that's the-" she said slowly. 

"Please?" Peter asked brokenly, still not looking at her. 

He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye and put her clipboard to her lap. "I'll take you."

He followed her down a couple hallways before they finally stopped outside of a room. Peter saw the cart and stretcher next to it that was covered in blood.

"This is the operating room. We can't let you past that door in there." She opened the door and took a step back, nodding for him to go forward. "I'll be here. Come out when you're ready."

"Thanks," Peter mumbled, before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Behind the locked door there was an operating table with a curtain around it. The lady was right; he wasn't allowed in the room. The door to his right was sealed shut, but there was a large window right in the middle of the room.

Peter walked forward hesitantly and saw the trace of a man on the table behind the curtain, with a cloth over his body. He took a deep, shaky breath, tears forming in his eyes. Gripping the sides of the table in front of him, he leaned against it, lowering his head. 

"I'm so sorry Uncle Ben. This- this was never supposed to happen," he said weakly, looking through the glass. "I never should have said those things- I started the argument in the first place. I should have been better. You were right...and I refused to trust you. I know you were just trying to help, I just- I get defensive. I can't help that. And then I stormed out- I should have known you would have come looking for me. Of course you would have." 

"I was just so angry- I'm always- it's because of HYDRA. They did something to me, something that will always be there no matter how hard I try to get rid of it. I try and hide it-" Peter shook his head. "But it just- it comes out. It's buried deep, I've buried it, but it's there, it's always been there. They made me into something I don't want to be and there's no escaping that. They screwed me up bad Ben, They-" He bites his lip. 

"Having a life-" Peter rubbed his nose with his sleeve, as he faltered on his gulp of air. "Having a life outside of HYDRA, finding you, finding you and May," Peter's head spun and he spoke softer. "It was the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I- I took it for granted. All of it. And I- I screwed it up."

Peter felt himself sink lower with that realization. "I screwed it up," he repeated weakly, his voice cracking. Looking at his feet, he smiled with no humor and shrugged, "I guess that's what I do. I screw up every good thing I ever have, and people get hurt because of it. People I care about. You got hurt because of me. And if I could fix it I would- if I could go back I would- I would stay in that HYDRA base, or make sure I died in there like I was supposed to," Peter said furiously, looking through the glass. "If it meant saving you- I would Ben- I would..."

A tear slid down Peter's cheek and he curled his hands into fists, looking up through a wall of tears, "And I am so... _disgusted_ and scared- I'm so scared of what I've become or what I am- what I always was- so mad with myself."

Peter looks down at his hands and gasps out. "I can't control it. I thought I could, I thought I could just push it down, like I do everything else but it keeps coming back and I can't-" Peter snarls, shaking his head and clenching his teeth. "I don't know what to do Ben. I am so incredibly lost and confused and I don't know who to trust - I don't even trust myself-"

"I can't get rid of it and I'm- I'm _not_ making excuses- of _course_ I'm not. I'm not." Peter shook his head violently, already regretting everything he had said. He was so selfish. Ben was dead because of him. Peter cursed himself, choking out. "It was _my fault._ I could have stopped him, that man who killed you."

Peter shook his head, sobbing, "I saw him. I was there when he robbed the store I could have stopped him but I let him get away- it was my fault Ben. He killed you and it was my fault. I didn't protect you. I couldn't save you. You told me, you said, with great power comes great responsibility Ben, you told me that."

Peter punched himself in the chest with every word he spoke. " _You were my responsibility_. And I-" Peter's shoulder slumped. "And I let you down. I let you down Ben, I failed you. I fail everyone. I thought I was protecting you from me, but I ended up getting you killed. You know for someone with all these powers...I can pick up an 18 wheeler but I can't save one person. I really am useless-"

In all his years at HYDRA that was the one thing Peter rarely said. He took beatings and hours of torture for not saying it. He had just said it. Voluntarily.

Peter lowered his head and cried out, "I screwed up. I let down the people I love. I am not who you thought I was. I don't even know myself. I don't know my limits. I scare myself even and you never- you shouldn't have trusted me. I am a danger to you and to everyone around me because they all get hurt. Everyone I get close to gets hurt-"

"And I don't know what to do now Ben. What am I supposed to do? Huh? You're in there, not me. I should be the one dead-" Peter bit off his sob.

"I am so so sorry Uncle Ben," he whispers, looking through the glass with tears in his eyes. "I am so, so sorry."

Peter stares ahead and then slams his hand down on the table, snapping it in half. Then he finally stumbles backward, pushing through the door. The lady is still there, talking to someone a door down and she smiles, walking over to him, obviously not hearing the table crack. 

"Let's head back to the other waiting room ok? It's much less crowded," she says, nodding. Peter nods dumbly and follows her down the hall.

It hurts.

It's not supposed to hurt this much.

But at the same time it doesn't hurt at all. He's numb. He's scared. He doesn't feel a thing. Yet he feels everything. 

Eventually they get there and she leads him to the corner, taking a seat and offering him one as well. He takes a seat without letting his bloody hands touch the arms.

"Your uncle's name was Ben Parker, right?" she asks. 

"Yes," Peter makes out. 

"And your name is?"

"Peter Parker-" his brow furrows, "Don't you...already know that?"

"Routine questions. Do you have parents I can contact?" 

Peter winces, "No."

"What happened to them?" she asks. 

"They- they died," Peter said quietly.

"Your uncle had a wife, May Parker," she continues without stopping.

"Yes." He gulps. He has to tell May. Oh God-

"She's not answering her phone."

"She's on a plane," Peter says quickly.

"Do you know how long she will be on her flight?"

He shakes his head, stuttering, "I-I don't know."

"Where is she going?"

"I- I don't remember," he flinches. 

"Do you have any immediate family you can contact? Brothers? Sisters?"

Peter shakes his head again, "No."

"Grandparents?"

"No." His ears start to ring and Peter starts to breath harder, the rapid fire questions starting to stress him out. 

"We have no legal guardian for you listed, except for your aunt and uncle Peter."

Peter looks up, and the lady is looking at him for answers. He makes out, "I don't know what to tell you-"

"What's your date of birth Peter?"

"I- I can't think right now," he says weakly, his hands shaking, his head spinning. 

"Your emergency card has not been filed and you are not on record at this hospital. Do you live in Queens?"

"Yes. I just moved here-"

"20 Ingram Street. Is that your address?"

"Yes," Peter said softly, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Who can we call Peter? I need you to think."

Peter looked up weakly, her voice screaming in his ears to the point where he can't even hear himself think, his eyes bloodshot and red. "I- I don't know-" his head is spinning so fast he can't even see, let alone hear, let alone answer a question-

"Do you have any family in this area at all?"

Tony was sitting in his lab, aimlessly spinning a wrench on his finger, looking at the newest 3D model he had made of a suit prototype. 

"FRIDAY rotate that 68 degrees," he cocked his head before nodding. "Yeah, better. Gives it more flare, don't you think? Too much?"

_"For you sir, never enough."_

Tony smirked, rising out of the chair and examining a part up close, comparing it to the blaster that he had made. "These look different. Tell me this is the right casing. I thought we used nanoparticles for the exterior lining. Helped with the stabilization numbers. Hey level this out for me, will ya?"

_"Sir, incoming call."_

"From?" he sighed, squinting to inspect the metal palm on his blaster. Probably Peter. Apologizing. Wait, what was he thinking? That kid would rather be caught dead than apologize- like him. 

_"Queens General Hospital."_

Tony straightened immediately, the wrench dropping from his hand and clattering to the floor. "Answer," he said hurriedly.

_"Hello? Mr. Stark?"_

"Speaking," Tony said firmly, gripping the chair to stop his hand from shaking. 

_"This is Katie from Queens General Hospital. We have a patient here_ _. A family member of his was just killed and there are no known legal guardians for him. He claims to know you and you are the number he told me to call."_

Tony froze and he couldn't speak. "What?" he whispered.

_"Frankly sir if it wasn't company policy I wouldn't have bothered you but-"_

"Peter," Tony choked out, stuttering, "Peter. Is it Peter?"

_"Y-yes that's his name. Peter Parker."_

"Is he ok? Is the kid alright?" Tony said angrily, already putting in his ear piece and double tapping his wrist to get into a suit. It closed around him and he was already sprinting, firing up his blasters to get to the nearest exit. 

_"I'll need you to come to the hospital Mr. Stark. Peter will be here waiting."_

"What happened?" Tony asked, blasting through the air, FRIDAY plotting a course to Queens Hospital. "Is he ok?"

_"I will explain everything when you arrive-"_

"No, you can tell me now," Tony said furiously. "What happened-"

_"I am not at liberty to-"_

"Son of a- give him the phone," Tony demanded. "I want to talk to the kid."

_"Sir, I can't-"_

"I know he's next to you. Put him on the phone or I guarantee you I will make you lose your job in the next thirty seconds. Do not test me," he snarled. He heard some shuffling and then it went silent, but Tony knew he was there on the other line.

"Peter?" he asked hesitantly. "Peter, talk to me kid-"

_"Tony-"_

Tony breathed a sigh of relief at hearing the kid's voice. "Peter, listen to me. Are you hurt? Are you hurt kid?"

 _"I should be,"_ Peter whispers. 

He's not hurt, but the response made Tony's heart clench all the same. He shook his head and spoke calmly, "Don't you think like that Parker. You give me two minutes. I'm coming."

_"Tony-"_

"I'm coming kid," he repeated." Just stay there. I'm coming."

_"It all happened so fast-"_

"I know it did Peter," Tony said. Truth is he had no idea what happened and he wasn't about to make Peter tell him, he was simply trying to keep the boy distracted. "It's gonna be ok. Just one minute now. Give me one minute," he pleaded, praying Peter wouldn't do anything stupid. 

_"My hands,"_ Peter choked out. 

"What about them? What about them?" Tony asked. 

_"One minute?"_ Peter asked weakly, not answering his last question. It sounded like Peter had just swallowed a lump in his throat, his voice barely as whisper. 

"Less than that kid, I'm almost there," Tony assured him, spiraling through the sky and dropping down to weave around buildings. The hospital was dead ahead. The line suddenly cut off and Tony cursed loudly, swearing to fire whoever just made Peter hang up. 

He was scared, genuinely scared. That kid barely let anything phase him. When he was pissed, he let you know and yelled, a fury Tony had never heard before lacing his voice. Even when he was in pain his tone was fierce. It was anything but fierce now. Peter was not one to be weak, or caught off guard, but that kid sounded like he had been hit across the head harder than he ever had before, which was saying a lot. 

There was obviously something HYDRA didn't try that Peter had just went through. Because right now, and Tony never thought he would say this, but the boy sounded broken. Scarred and shaky, his voice trembling in disbelief, light like he was about to pass out. 

Tony hit the ground running, still in his suit as he entered the hospital, the helmet receding to his neck. He barged through the doors and it was a good thing they opened fast enough or he would have shattered the glass in haste to get inside. 

The nurse at the front was looking at him with confusion and surprise. He guessed it wasn't everyday a superhero barged into a hospital with the look Tony had on his face. 

"Peter Parker," he said hurriedly, running to the woman at the front desk. "I'm here for Peter Parker. I- I don't know what happened. Someone called me, told me to come, just tell me how to get to the kid, please-"

"Peter Parker is in waiting room B. He arrived here about 40 minutes ago," a woman said, walking in from the side. "We spoke on the phone."

"Glad to see you still have your job," Tony snarled, not in the mood for this. "Where is he?"

Her expression slackened and she lifted her chin. "Like I said, he's in waiting room B down that hall. He's fine. His uncle-"

"Ben- what happened to Ben?" Tony asked suddenly, his eyes glued to the door she had come from. 

"He was shot. He didn't make it," she said slowly.

Tony stared at her in shock. Oh God...Peter...

"It was a robber and from witness reports we have gathered, Ben Parker tried to stop him. When he didn't comply the man pulled a gun. Peter was one of the first on the scene," she said, her voice indicating she was in fact capable of emotion. 

Tony ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head. His head was spinning. That explained Peter's voice. God... "I've got to- I've got to go-" He muttered, surging for the door. The woman suddenly sidestepped in front of him and put out a hand, not daring to press it against his suit though.

"Mr. Stark, the only people allowed past this door are family only, I'm sorry," she said simply, as if that explained everything.

"No, he called me," Tony said quickly. "He doesn't have anyone else-" 

"I get how this is hard to understand-" she sighed impatiently. 

"Hard to understand?" Tony spluttered. "What's _hard to understand_ is that my kid is behind those doors and you won't let me go see him!" Tony yelled, shoving his finger over her shoulder. 

"Your kid?" she raised an eyebrow. 

"I don't have time for this," Tony snarled, his eyes flashing. 

"Until you fill out the appropriate paperwork-" she started. 

"Do you know who I am?" Tony demanded. "I'm Tony freaking Stark. So help me, if you _don't_ let me through those doors, I will _get_ through myself," he swore. "That kid in there, he called _me_. His uncle just died, and his aunt is not here and _I am_. You let me through, right now."

"Mr. Stark, one question puts this into perspective. Are you his guardian?" she asked like he was annoying her.

"What? No," Tony scoffed. 

She stood her ground. "Then I can't let you-"

Tony balled his fists in utter fury. "Ok you know what? Heck. You _make_ me his guardian. I will fill out the forms as I run because I'm done playing games with you. You do whatever you need to do to justify my actions because I am _going back there_ and you can't exactly stop me," he snarled, pushing past without a second thought.

"You're violating our policy!" she called after him as he shoved the door open.

Tony turned and sneered, "Go ahead and sue me. It's not like it will make a dent in my wallet. That's _my kid."_ Tony let the door swing shut and hurried down the hall. He ran into a worker and grabbed his arm, "Waiting room B, where is it?"

"Down the hall and take a left and then a right at the fire extinguisher," the man pointed in awe. 

"Thank you," Tony said hurriedly, before sprinting down the hallway. He double tapped his wrist and the suit peeled away, his feet hitting the ground. He rounded the corner and saw the fire extinguisher, hitting the wall as he sprinted around the corner.

"Peter!" Tony calls before he's even in sight of the waiting room; he can't help it. A teenager in the corner, with messy hair and shaking hands that were stained in blood, looked up just as he ran in, his bloodshot eyes focusing.

"Peter," Tony said in relief, staring forward. 

The boy's eyes were scarred and terrifyingly empty, and it reminded him of the first time they had met, which he hated. He hated that this forced Peter back to square one, he hated seeing the kid like this. But if he had to, he'd take it the same way he did so many months ago. Tony didn't say anything as he walked forward, and he didn't say anything when he crouched in front of him. They communicated well through silence.

The kid didn't smile or even really acknowledge him but he was clearly relieved. Tony looked up at him, examining his face for any cuts or bruises that hadn't been there when he had left him on that roof. That conversation was long gone, Tony's anger had disintegrated completely. Tony hesitantly put a hand on Peter's knee, unsure of what to say.

He decided on, "Hey Pete."

"It won't come off," Peter said quietly, not looking at him. 

"What won't come off?" Tony asked quietly. Then he looked and saw Peter's hands. They were shaking, and the kid was rubbing them together and Tony realized why. They were stained red, with blood under his fingernails. It didn't comfort him much to know it wasn't Peter's blood, because he knew whose it was, and it wasn't just on his hands but his jeans and jacket too. 

"It will," Tony assures him, placing his palm over Peter's clenched fists to stop the kids aggressive wringing of his hands. "Are you ok?"

Peter looked up at him for the first time and cocked his head. The kid wanted to say yes, Tony knew him long enough to tell when he wanted to fake it and lie and act like everything was okay. "No."

Fair. Tony winced, "Kid, I'm so sorry-"

"I- I need to fill out paperwork- she said I need to sign, I need you to sign-" Peter pushes Tony's hand off and gets to his feet with startling speed. The blood drains from his face and Peter blinks rapidly, clearly feeling a little lightheaded as he sways slightly but Tony's there to steady him. 

"Let me take care of it Peter, ok?" Tony says, still holding onto his arm in fear the kid's knees will buckle and he'll collapse. 

Peter nods numbly. "Yeah." Tony lets him sink back down into the chair and rubs his hair affectionately, giving his shoulder one more firm squeeze, mostly for his benefit, to remind himself that as selfish as it sounds, Peter wasn't the one who...

Tony walks to the desk and the woman puts forward a couple papers, showing Tony where to sign. 

"This will put you in temporary legal custody," she says firmly. 

Tony signs, nodding, "I know. How soon can you contact his Aunt?"

"We've tracked her flight. She'll be on the first plane back," the woman said. Then she grimaced and looked over his shoulder. "Poor thing. He's in shock." Tony glanced over at Peter and nodded silently, pushing the signed forms back over. She takes them with a small smile, "You're free to go. There's vending machines a hallway over if he needs something to eat or drink."

"Thank you," Tony said, turning back around and walking over to Peter. He rubbed his shoulder, "Time to go Pete."

Peter looked up in confusion, “Where?”

"Well I would take you back to the apartment but I can’t leave you there. We’re gonna go to the compound ok? You’ve got a home there. Always. I promise you that.” Tony said with a sad smile. 

Peter contemplated that for a second and then nodded, as if remembering he had a second family that cared about him and loved him.

Tony's attempt to help him up was thwarted as Peter slapped his hand away. "I'm fine," he snarled, but his voice broke. Tony could tell Peter was fighting him. The kid was shoving it all down again, and he was going to snap real soon.

"We can go to the bathroom Peter, and try and-" he points to his bloody hands. 

"I- I just want to get out of here," Peter says quietly. There's a scary look in his eyes. "Tony," Peter says, strangely calm. "I need to leave, _now_." He had never seen Peter act like this.

"You don't want anything to drink or eat- there's a vending machine-" Tony points down the hall. 

"I'm not hungry," Peter says, gulping, his hands starting to shake despite his attempts to stop them. Tears fill the kid's eyes and he blinks them away angrily, clearly having an internal battle with himself. He chokes out, "Tony, we need to go." 

"Ok, ok," Tony nods, putting a hand on Peter's back. The kid's shoulders relax as he leads him to the exit. Tony's suit flies to catch up to him, forming around his body as they push through the doors to the lobby. Peter keeps his head down, his hands clenched in fists as he makes a beeline for the exit, Tony right behind him. 

People stare and Tony glares at the ones who do, shielding Peter as they walk out. They minute they get outside Peter is walking fast, down the side of the hospital until he's out of sight of the windows. The minute he is, he collapses on his hands and knees on the wet pavement.

He’s shaking and gasping and Tony realizes he’s having a panic attack. It pains him to see the kid like that, especially since he thought they had gotten past that. 

Tony immediately bends down and holds him by the shoulders, shouting "Pete- Peter? Hey- talk to me kid, talk to me."

"It was all my fault-" Peter whispers brokenly. 

"Peter it wasn't your fault-" Tony says firmly. 

"You don't know that!" Peter screams, scrambling away a couple feet and pointing at Tony. "The robber came into the store. Ben and I had gotten in a fight. I was tired. I let the guy go, I didn't even put up a fight.” Peter shook his head, furious with himself. “I saw he had a gun Tony. I saw he had a gun.”

Tony realizes what happened now. The robber was in the store that Peter was in and he hadn't stopped him. Then the robber left and somewhere in there killed Uncle Ben. Tony could barely wrap his head around such a horrible thing... but the kid somehow thought it was his fault?

"Peter, he had a gun-" he said weakly.

"I'm Spiderman! IM SPIDER-MAN!" Peter screamed angrily, at the top of his lungs, clearly not caring if anybody heard him. He shoved a finger against his chest so hard it looked like it hurt. "I. Am. Spiderman. Guns don't matter to me. I should have stopped him. I let him get away and he shot Ben in the chest. Don't tell me thats'-"

"Peter," Tony started forward. 

The kid was in hysterics, tears streaming down his face, trembling as he stared at his hands. "No, stop you can't _pretend_ this is ok because it's not! I am _screwed_ up- I did this. I should be in that room. Me! Not Ben, I should be dead, not him! Instead I'm not even scratched and look at my hands, look at me, I've lost it Tony, I don't know what's wrong with me- I should have never gotten out, I should have died in there like I was supposed to-"

Tony nearly tackled the kid, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him towards him, wrapping firm arms around his small form. Peter went limp, burying his face in Tony's jacket as he sobbed, not hugging him back but Tony knew why. He had noticed Peter refused to touch anything with his bloodied hands. 

Peter sank to his knees and Tony went with him, clutching the back of Peter's head to his shoulder.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault-" Peter repeated brokenly. "HYDRA- it wasn't them. It was me-"

"Stop it Peter, that’s enough," Tony said firmly.

"I let him down," Peter muttered. "I let everyone down-"

"Well you haven't let me down," Tony snapped.

Silence. Realization. 

Peter was shaking against him and that shut the kid up for a minute and Tony took that as his cue. He ruffled the kid's hair and pulled away, grabbing Peter roughly by the shoulders. "Listen to me Parker,” he said firmly. “This was not your fault. And don't say I don't know what happened. I graduated from MIT with 2 degrees by the time I was 19, I have pretty good intuition. I pieced it together. And this was not your fault. Don't you think that for one second. I don't want to hear it. You understand me?"

Peter was looking at him fearfully, but similar to when they had first met, it wasn't fear of Tony, it was fear of himself. 

"I am _not_ afraid of you," Tony said gently and that hit Peter like a wrecking ball. The kid crumpled into his chest, still keeping his bloodied hands from touching him as Tony put his chin atop his head. "And I still trust you with scissors."

Peter sobbed and Tony saw the slightest flicker of a smile on his face.

“I’m sorry kid, I’m so sorry,” Tony whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn’t know what else to say. Sorry wouldn’t cut it. Nothing would. Sorry was an empty saying. 

His car pulled around the side of the hospital by itself since he had called it earlier from his suit. The suit peeled away from his body and blasted off back to the compound.

He hooked his arm around Peter's shoulder, lifting him gently. The two staggered to the car and got in the backseat. Peter's hands were still in front of him shaking and there was silence as the car pulled away, which was better than Peter losing it. 

"I- I didn't think I would break," Peter said quietly after a while. 

"Happens to the best of us kid," Tony said back, equally as quiet. He nods at Peter when he makes eye contact with him. That says so much more.

"It hurts," Peter whispers, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his arms against his head. "After everything I've been through...it hurts more than that."

What Tony wanted to say was that he would give anything to take it from him. What he actually said was, "I know. I- I’m so sorry Peter."

Then he noticed Peter's knuckles and he reached for them, Peter immediately yanks them away, shooting him a dangerous look. Tony put his hands up in surrender and simply asked, "Is that glass?"

Peter winced, blushing. "I- I broke a mirror. Another one."

Tony couldn't help but laugh, "What is it with you and mirrors kid?"

Peter let out a giggle, and snapped his head up in shock, like he had never done that before. He smiled and looked at Tony and laughed again, tears building in his eyes. Tony grinned, winking at him once before he shoved him gently in the shoulder.

“T-thanks for coming Tony,” Peter said. 

Tony winked. 

”They shouldn’t have let you through though...” Peter realized, knitting his brow. “She told me you wouldn't be able to come until you signed papers or something. What did you do?”

Tony thought for a second, before he looked down and smiled. “Asked nicely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha. ha. ha. don't kill me <3 love all of you. More angst next chapter if you can believe that, and we'll start getting into tony and Peter getting closer. Nothing like a tragedy to bring two people together :)  
> Anywayyyyyy I hope you liked it and hahaha it was kind of funny because last chapter some of you didn't realize it was gonna be uncle ben and it showed so I hope it came as a shock <3 <3 <3  
> Stay tuned for the next chapter, we are far from done with this story! Let me know what you thought, I absolutely love hearing from all of you- you guys make it worth it. So thank you once again and stay tuned for the next chapter that should be out in 4 to 5 days and it will pick up right where we left off  
> I love you 3000 <3


	14. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS SO LATE I AM SO SORRYYYYYYYY  
> Hello :) Happy Superbowl Sunday!!!! Yeet I'm hyped. I hope you all have an awesome day and enjoy this chapter!!! Its sort of hyping up for the next one which is gonna be crazyyyy. Also thank you for all your comments last chapter they made my day and made me laugh XD I love all of you awesome readers :)  
> Enjoy!!

"You asked nicely?" Peter scoffed. 

"Yeah, I just said please and thank you and they let me right through," Tony lied. 

"Sure they did," the kid smiled weakly, clearly trying to distract himself.

Tony winced and just decided to be straight with him. "Look, Pete I- I don't know what to do to help right now," he admitted. "Do you want me to talk about school or science or just not talk at all? What do you need me to do kid? Tell me."

"There's nothing you can do." Peter wrung his shaking hands.

They went quiet and Tony hated that. What do you say to a kid who just lost his uncle right in front of him? 'It will be ok' wasn't a promise Tony could keep. 'I'm sorry' was empty and no where near close to meaning enough. 'I get what you're going through' was cliche, and as much as he wanted to think he did, so he could somehow comprehend how the kid was feeling...he didn't; Peter had been through a rougher hell than he had- much rougher. Talking about science or anything other than the fact that they were driving away from a hospital with Peter's hands covered in blood felt wrong. Tony didn't feel comfortable engaging the kid in a discussion about thermodynamics; it seemed like an insult to Ben's memory.

Peter was staring at his stained palms and Tony gently shoved Peter in the shoulder. "Don't," he said quietly, locking eyes with Peter who nodded and tried to stare anywhere else. 

After a second of silence it was Peter who spoke up, his voice deprived of his usual defensive snap and his witty tone, "I- Ben and I got into a fight."

"You don't need to-" Tony started, not wanting Peter to feel obligated to tell him the story. That was not what he had in mind. 

"No- I- I want to. I don't know if I'll be able to later and if I have to tell someone I want it to be you-" he faltered, nodding and looking up at Tony. 

Tony realized what Peter was doing and he hated it. He was reliving the entire thing, so that he could not only focus and keep everything balled up tight, but place all the guilt on his shoulders. This wasn't a form of therapy, Tony thought, it was a confession.

Peter licked his lips, hiding his bloody hands, "The gang leader dude, he broke my phone and then I got home late-"

Tony winced, "I should have given you a lift, I'm sorry-"

"No, you were right to leave after what I said-" Peter shook his head violently. Then he turned to look at Tony with a pain filled gaze, guilt in his eyes. Through all the commotion in the past hours, Tony had forgotten about that argument they had had on the roof. It was clear Peter _hadn't_ forgotten about it. In that moment, Tony saw an additional weight press down on Peter's shoulders if that was even possible .

"I am...sorry for that," Peter said weakly, tripping over his words. "I didn't mean it-"

"I know you didn't kid," Tony assured him; that was one more thing Peter needed: worrying if he was going to lose two people that day. The words had hurt, but Tony knew that when the kid was mad or stressed, he didn't really think about what he was saying, because he never had to. Seeing Peter's small form on the other side of the car staring at him with wise eyes was enough to make him forgive him on spot. "It's ok," he promised. 

Peter gave him a small smile of gratitude and there was another long period of silence until he started up again after gulping down a breath. "I don't know why I was so angry, it just- when I bundle it all up- I was scared I was going to hurt Ben. I couldn't stop it- we got into a fight, I was so stupid- I brought up my parents and then I just- I left. I ran and I ran and I ran until I couldn't anymore, just trying to get away from him because I didn't know what was happening- I couldn't do it- and then when I finally stopped-"

Peter's eyes flicked down and he clearly hid something, stuttering and continuing on the story, ignoring the fact that he had deprived Tony of an important detail, and the man knew it.

"I turned around and went into a store to get water and food but I didn't have enough money-" Peter said shakily.

"So the man told me to leave and just gave me the water and that's when the guy went up to the counter. He knocked his stuff over the side- that's- that's when I saw the gun- and then, and then he grabbed the money, tossed me the bar that the guy wouldn't let me have and left. And I- I let him," Peter said in awe, shocked by the fact that he had just said what he did.

"I let him leave," he repeated weakly. He shook his head, "I heard the gunshot when I got outside and-" Peter faltered.

"There was so much blood-the medics got there but Ben was flat lining, they had to bring him back a couple of times on the ambulance. When we got to the hospital he was barely breathing and the doctor told me they did all they could but it was too late."

"I'm so sorry kid," Tony said, awkwardly patting Peter's shoulder. "I-" Tony looked up at the teen. _Be honest with him!_ "I don't know what to say to make this better. You know I'm not one to sugar coat it kid, or make promises I can't keep. I would say I know what you're going through, but I don't. I wish I did. I'm sorry Peter."

Peter's gaze was filled with respect and admiration and he gave Tony the most genuine smile he had that entire night.

"Honestly?" Peter said suddenly, straightening in his eat cautiously. "I- I can't feel...right now," he said nervously, looking over at Tony with an unfocused look in his eyes. "I don't feel anything...like my systems are overloaded. It's weird, I- I don't like it," Peter stuttered, clearly uncomfortable.

"You're in shock Pete," Tony said gently. He knew Peter had never experienced that before, and to someone who was usually so closed off, who had been through something like he had, that was unsettling.

The kid had a scared look in his eyes and he attempted to explain himself. "Pain helped me focus. Maybe that's why I lasted that long at the HYDRA base. It sucked to feel it but I knew what I was feeling, I had control." Peter shook his head, his eyes unfocused. "Something snapped inside there Tony, everything went red- I ran to the bathroom because I knew I was going to lose it. I was afraid I was going to hurt someone."

"So you hit a mirror instead?" Tony attempted to joke. 

"I destroyed the whole room," Peter corrected darkly. "I punched through a wall and a sink without even blinking, with the force of a flick. And that was me holding back. Some part of me snapped today, I lost myself and that's never happened before. Something's happening to me Tony," Peter said quietly. "And I don't know what it is."

"We'll figure it out kid," Tony said. 

"Yeah, but that's the thing, what if we don't?" The kid's eyes flashed, but it wasn't anger towards Tony. "Hersh warned me of this, he said he would win, because there were some things that I didn't leave behind, a part of me that stayed with me even when I left that place. He said I wouldn't be able to really get away from HYDRA and he was right. I felt it today Tony, I felt it inside of me, under my skin. My vision went red and I just knew I was going to hurt someone unless I got out of there, and I couldn't stop myself and it scares me," Peter whispered. "It scares me a lot. I'm losing control and I don't know what to do. I lost control and I got Ben killed, what's next? I actually kill someone? You or May? I can't do that Tony."

"Peter, look at me," Tony said firmly. Peter met his gaze and he had never seen the kid so scared. "I know some things that happened can't be forgotten, ok? I get that. But we're gonna figure this out. I promise you that."

Peter nods and looks down.

"And Pete?" he adds, waiting until the boy looks up at him. "Don't you hide anything from me. We all have a breaking point kid- it happens to the best of us. But burying it only screws you over in the long run. Take it from the person who's been there and done that and let me tell you, it's not fun. I've lost it a couple times myself."

"How did you-" Peter's brow knits and he falters.

Tony knows what he means. "You have to be reminded of yourself, you have to remember who you really are. And _you,_ you are not some captive of HYDRA, or some super solider they made to do their dirty work. You're _Peter Parker_." Tony put a hand on his shoulder before shrugging, "And you're the Crime Fighting Spider."

Peter shoots him a look but nods. Then he can't help but sigh, "Spiderm-"

"Spider _ling_ , sorry, my apologies," Tony corrects. 

Peter starts to smile, "Shut up-"

Tony frowns, "Spiderboy?"

"I hate you," Peter laughs genuinely. 

Tony smiles. 

Tony had a hand on Peter's back as they walked into the compound at the back entrance. FRIDAY stayed quiet as they entered and he was grateful of that.

"Is anybody- are they-" Peter looked around nervously. 

"Pepper and Happy are the only ones here kid," Tony assured him, knowing what Peter was asking. The boy didn't want to look weak in front of any of the Avengers, and he probably didn't want them knowing either. Peter was self conscious enough about his bloody hands, which Tony couldn't stand to look at anymore because he knew what it was doing to Peter. This first thing he wanted to do was get the teen cleaned up; the blood was a remainder what happened and Peter couldn't exactly ignore it.

"Everybody else is either at conferences or out doing whatever it is they do on their days off," Tony assured him, turning the corner to head down the hallway with Peter, keeping him within arms length, "Let's go."

They walked to the med bay and Peter immediately took off his sweatshirt, wincing as he was forced to use his bloody hands. He peeled it off and Tony took it from him, tossing it to the side as Peter went over to the sink, running his hands under water. Tony walked over and turned the knob to make it warmer as Peter rubbed his hands together with a blank expression on his face. Blood slowly started to come off from the stream, staining the water and sides of the sink red as it did. It trickled down, Peter's hands shaking as they slowly lost the red tint.

Tony grabbed a towel for him and after about a minute and a half, Tony finally stopped Peter who seemed like he had zoned out. His hands were fine now, the blood gone, but Peter was still washing them, staring at them with intense shock. He tapped the kid on the shoulder and Peter jumped, immediately spinning as Tony caught his shoulders.

"Easy kid," Tony said firmly, offering the towel. Peter nodded and didn't say anything as he grabbed the cloth from Tony who stood next to him cautiously. "You okay?" Tony asked, reaching out to steady the teen who was swaying. 

Peter blinked and then croaked out an unconvincing, "Yeah." He vigorously rubbed the towel over his hands until Tony gently took it from his grasp. 

"Look kid, I told you it would come off," Tony said gently. 

"Yeah you did," Peter looked down at his clean hands and gave him a small smile.

"Its ok," Tony said firmly. He didn't exactly know what that meant, but it made sense to Peter in a way. He was still fumbling on every word.

Peter's nod was unconvincing before his eyes shot open wide and he stuttered, "May- does she-oh God _MAY-_ "

"It's taken care of," Tony assured him. "They're putting her on the next flight back. We'll know as soon as she gets here. She's gonna be ok. You both are. And it wasn't your fault, so don't you even think for a second that she'll blame you." Peter's eyes flicked up at that and Tony knew he had been spot on with what the kid was thinking.

Tony addressed another issue. "If you want to go back to the apartment tonight, you can, I can crash on the couch-"

"No it's-" Peter nodded. "Can I stay here?"

"Yeah kid," Tony clasped his shoulder. "I'm legally in charge of you so just don't do anything stupid, ok?"

"No promises," Peter said, but his voice didn't have the same witty tone as it usually did. 

Tony walked over, grabbing the sweatpants and sweatshirt from the same spot in the cabinet, reminded of when they had first met. He held them up and smirked, "Deja vu much?"

Peter webbed them from halfway across the room and grinned, "I'll try to not break the mirror this time."

"That would be appreciated," Tony laughed.

He turned and went to clean up the sink as Peter closed the door to the bathroom. He put some things away and then got out a butterfly bandage to give to the kid to help close a cut on his head, courtesy of the gang leader he had saved Peter from earlier that night.

Meanwhile, he was kicking himself for leaving the kid alone those hours ago. Despite Peter being the one to claim he didn't want or need him, in the end it was still Tony who left him on that roof. He had told Pepper truthfully that Peter was his responsibility. Yet he had left him at the time Peter needed him most. Maybe if he had taken him home and made another excuse, Peter and Ben would have never gotten into that fight and Ben wouldn't have been killed. 

Tony slammed the first aid kit onto the table with a big sigh, running his hands through his hair, before he straightened suddenly; someone was calling his name in the hallway. He peaked out and saw Pepper walking briskly towards him. 

"Oh God Tony, is he-" her wide were filled with concern as her gaze snapped to the med bay. Tony walked to meet her, remembering how nervous Peter was when he knew people could see him in the state he was in. He thought it best she not go in. 

"He's shaken up," Tony admitted. 

Pepper put a hand on his arm, "Ben?" Tony shook his head and tears filled her eyes. Pepper gasped and shook her head, before whispering, "Was it HYDRA?"

Tony shook his head. He hadn't even thought of that, but he knew it wasn't, which only made it worse. If it was HYDRA, that made sense, but this was just bad luck. Ben was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't deserve that. More importantly, Peter didn't deserve that. It was just so unfair that after everything, that's what happened, that's what broke the kid. 

Tony realized he had paused, anger heating up in his chest and he blinked, shaking his head to refocus and answer Pepper's question, "Hit and run. Peter saw the guy. Kid's beating himself up because he didn't stop him. A lot happened tonight. He got mad at me, got into a fight with Ben- that's when he ran out. It happened when Ben was looking for him I guess. The kid's tearing himself apart. It wasn't his fault. I'm sure I don't make any sense right now-"

"You're filling me in later," Pepper swore and Tony nodded. Then she looked over his shoulder, "Peter- he's- is he ok?"

"He washed off the blood and he's cleaning himself up," Tony nodded over his shoulder. "He's in complete shock Pep, I've never seen him like this."

"Can I talk to him?" Pepper asked. "The poor kid- Ben was...God Tony-"

"I would give him time. Even me talking to him is a lot right now," Tony admitted. "He'll be ok, he always is somehow."

"I can make you both something?" Pepper suggested. "He probably hasn't eaten. Do I need to call May? Is there paperwork? You take care of him, I'll get the paperwork-"

"It's all been taken care of Pep," Tony assured her. "I'm his...temporary legal guardian. May either was or will be notified- she's on the first plane back. But yeah, a grilled cheese would be good, he loves those," Tony admitted with a smile. 

"Ok, tell him...if he needs anything," Pepper gave a wary look towards the med bay. 

"I know Pep," Tony gave her a smile smile and kissed her. She carded her hand through his graying hair and narrowed her eyes, looking at Tony in question.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Tony asked incredulously.

"You ok?" she pried earnestly. 

"I didn't just lose my uncle," Tony said sadly. Pepper gave him a miserbale look and he kissed her again, promising, "I'm ok Pepper, I'm just worried about him."

She nodded and rubbed his shoulder, "Well take care of him Tony. And tell him I'm sorry. I'm glad he's safe."

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "Me too."

She brushed his hand and then walked back down the hall as Tony ducked back into the med bay. He looked at the bathroom door that was still closed and went over to sit in the chair by the computer. 

"FRIDAY, did you return that suit to the lab?" he asked. 

_"Yes sir,"_ she replied. 

"Thank you. And track down May's flight number for me will you? Revert all calls to my private number," he said. 

_"Will do."_

There was suddenly a loud crash from the bathroom and Tony jumped to his feet, pushing away from the desk. "Peter?"

No answer. 

Tony walked quickly to the door and knocked, "Pete!"

Nothing. 

"Peter, open the door kid, are you ok?" Tony tried the handle and it was locked. His chest started to tighten and his voice was laced with panic. "Peter, you gotta talk to me bud."

Peter's voice was small and fearful, filled with effort, "Tony-"

"Peter, open the door," Tony said firmly. 

Peter let out a strangled and muffled yell in response, his voice breaking. Tony cursed, stepping back and planting his foot into the center of the door, kicking it in. The door slammed into the opposite wall, the lock breaking off as well as some of the wood. He stumbled in to find Peter in the corner, with a clean white shirt and sweatpants on, but something was off. The kid looked up from where his head was in his knees and Tony almost recoiled. 

"Stay back," Peter growled, choking out each word. The kid's eyes were narrowed and angry, not at all like Peter's gaze he had gotten used to. They literally flashed and if it had been anyone other than the boy he had met a month ago, Tony would have been scared for his life.

Tony took a hesitant step forward, putting his hand out, "Peter, talk to me-"

"I can't stop it!" Peter said through gritted teeth. "I can't see- it's all red- too much red- I can't control it- _darn it Tony,_ stay back!"

"No," Tony shook his head, getting closer as Peter pressed his back flat against the wall he was slumped against. The kid raised his hand to press them to his ears and it was then Tony saw his bloodied knuckles. Then his gaze found the missing section of the wall by the corner. Keeping a wary eye on the teen he smirked nervously.

"Hey at least you didn't break the mirror," he said, attempting humor, something Peter could usually relate with. 

It didn't work this time.

“Don’t get any closer! Tony please, I can’t-“ Peter pressed his head against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. The kid let out a cry and slammed his heel into the ground, the tile cracking. 

"Hey, listen to me," Tony said slowly. "Listen to me kid."

"Shut up," Peter snarled, and Tony didn't know if he was talking to him or someone else or both. Peter was remembering HYDRA, remembering the pain, the fear, what was said to him- it was all spiraling. Suddenly something plastered to the wall at amazing speed and Tony jumped, staring in shock. A piece of the wall Peter had punched shattered against the wall right next to him. Tony looked back, but he wasn't scared of the boy. He knew Peter never missed, meaning he didn't hit Tony on purpose. The kid was still in there, fighting whatever was happening. 

"Peter, listen to me-" Tony said firmly.

The teen screamed, putting both hands over his ears and curling on his side in the corner, his hands in shaking fists. He violently shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Peter-" Tony made up his mind and surged forward, not caring about Peter's warning when suddenly the kid twisted around and caught Tony's gaze. His brown eyes were back and they were wide with fear. Peter made a split second of eye contact with him before shooting a web, right as he squeezed his eyes shut again, his teeth clenched. 

This time Tony's arm was trapped against the wall and he staggered a bit from the force, looking in shock at the web that was plastered over his wrist. He knew why Peter had done it, and that just made him angrier. He was saving him, keeping him from getting hurt, keeping him safe from himself. Tony yanked at the web angrily but it was no use.

Peter was on his hands and knees, before he jerked and fell to his side with a groan. Tony knew exactly what was going on and it pained him he was trapped. PTSD wasn't just in your head. If it was bad enough it became reality. Nine years had been more than just 'bad enough'. Peter was reliving a moment from HYDRA, and if it was punches or a slap or whatever it was, it felt real. And Tony had to watch.

_Hersh punched him again, in the side. "This is what you were born to do Peter, you can't fight it."_

_Peter looked up, spitting out blood. Some dripped on his chin and slid down his neck, getting on his shirt- not that it mattered; his shirt was already practically stained red. His eyes flashed, "You don't know that."_

_"We made you to do this. I made you," Hersh snarled._

_"You didn't make me," Peter spat, getting to his hands and knees._

_"Get up," Hersh directed._

_Peter groaned and attempted to get to his feet only for Hersh to grab him with a grip on his curls and pull him up. Peter staggered and straightened. The person in the chair was at the end of the room, the same sack over his or her head. Peter was given the gun._

_"No," he said angrily._

_"Do it, or I'll kill you," Hersh snarled, holding a knife to Peter's throat._

_Peter smiled, his ribs killing him as he raised an eyebrow and lowered the gun, standing right in front of his enemy and glaring him in the eye. "Do it," Peter dared, pressing forward against the sharp edge. "You can't. You need me."_

_"You think you can resist. You will break. You will kill for us," Hersh said, pressing the knife harder to his throat.  
_

_"Not for you," Peter winced determinedly._

_Hersh flicked the knife up, cutting Peter on the cheek before flipping it around and slamming it into his jaw. Peter flinched, his head snapping to the side and Hersh shook his head,_ _"You're weak."_

_Peter, holding his jaw and rubbing blood off of his mouth, croaked, "Then why haven't you broken me yet?"  
_

_Another hit sent him reeling but before his head could whip to the side, Hersh grabbed his chin, forcing Peter too look at him. There was hate in the man's eyes, and Peter's matched it. His sweaty bangs fell across his forehead and Peter breathed harshly through his nose. The gun was still in his hand but it was limp at his side; he knew not to use it._

_"_ _You have been here a very long time Peter," Hersh said slowly, turning Peter's face in his grasp. "But you still have hope. You still think you're getting out."_

_"I'm going to kill you one day," Peter swore with venom. "And I'm going to watch you die."_

_"What, like how Miles tried to kill me?" Hersh snarled._

_"You shut up," Peter snarled. The image of his friend dying in front of him was still fresh, his shoulder wound was stinging._

_"We made a fine example of him Peter."_

_Despite Miles shooting and betraying him, he flinched as he remembered hearing the shot, watching as his friend fell flat in the doorway, his eyes staring wide at Peter with a bullet in the center of his forehead._

_"Stop it," he swore._

_"You were so close Peter," Hersh laughed._

_"SHUT UP!" Peter screamed, his vision going red, his fists balled. Hot tears formed in his eyes and he was breathing hard, filled with terrifying fury.  
_

_"There's the anger!" Hersh grinned, pushing his chin away and shoving Peter in the chest. He fell to the ground and s_ c _rambled back, his eyes and chest stinging as Hersh taunted him with a creepy genuine smile. Blood dripped down Peter's cheek._

_"That's exactly what I want Peter."_

_Peter pushed himself backward and rolled onto all fours, blocking a kick from Hersh with his forearm._

_"You are useless," Hersh seethed, sending another kick at his side that Peter slapped away in panic._

_"Weak!"_

_Peter rolled out of the way and got to his feet, block Hersh's punch with the gun he still had in his hands. He slammed it down on the man's arm who didn't even flinch. Sometimes Peter wondered if he was even human._

_"I promise you Peter, if you ever get out, if it's even possible, this will not leave you," Hersh laughed, stepping closer to Peter and spreading his arms. "I will not leave you. That anger, that hate, that instinct to rip a person apart, that will not leave you._

_"You did this to me!" Peter screamed, throwing an enraged punch that Hersh easily ducked. His enemy retaliated, punching him in the face and Peter staggered, his nose bleeding._

_"No Peter," he shook his head. "That anger in there? That's you. You're a born killer Peter, this is in your blood. Fear of losing control, hurting people, that will always stay with you. There is no outcome where you walk away unscathed, i can promise you that."_

_"I hate you," Peter sobbed._

_"HYDRA is inside you Peter, under your skin and you can feel it. It builds up and you can't stop it, can you? You tell yourself you're good deep down but do you really know that? Do you really know yourself? Do you trust yourself? No. So how can you ever trust anyone around you? Even your reality? At this point I doubt you can tell the difference between fact and fiction-"_

_Peter screamed and threw another punch, and this time Hersh grabbed his sloppily throw, effortlessly twisting Peter's arm. Hersh whispered in his ear, "Your life is an illusion Peter. Your life is whatever I say it is."_

_There was a loud snap as Peter's wrist broke and he yelled in pain, elbowing Hersh in the stomach so he could scramble away, gasping, holding his broken wrist to his chest._

_"It is an overwhelming red that you can't block out. Tell me Peter, in your nightmares, can you block out this much pain? Can you block out the screaming in your ears, the constant fear, the ringing in your ears? You're pathetic Peter, the only ally you have is hope. And it is slowly deteriorating. I can see it in your eyes."_

_"Can you?" Peter seethed._

_Hersh didn't miss a beat. "Yes. Because I'm in your head."_

_Peter snapped. He let out a bloodcurling yell as everything tunneled, turning red. He shot to his feet faster than Hersh could blink and raised the gun furiously, leveling it to Hersh's heart about fifteen feet away. And he fired._

_Hersh smiled. He didn't even flinch._

_"I told you Peter. You're a killer."_

_Peter whirled with the gun and it was hit away, skidding across the floor and stopping by the corner. Hersh was there, holding Peter's wrist. "Don't make me break the other one," he threatened, his grip like iron._

_Peter winced and glared at him in shock. His confusion must have been apparent because Hersh forced him to turn around. "I told you. You can't even trust your own reality."_

_Peter was forcefully pushed to face where he had shot the gun and he cried out, Hersh dropping his wrist so Peter could sink to his knees. The person at the end of the room was dead, his or her head slumped down, unmoving. A small stream of blood dripped off of the material at it's lowest point, dropping to the floor between the person's limp feet, creating a puddle._

_Peter's mouth opened in a silent scream and he stared in shock, in horror, in disbelief, wanting to believe he hadn't done this- he hadn't just killed someone. But he had. He had just ended an innocent man or woman's life. Peter didn't know what had happened, but he knew he had shot the gun, he knew he never missed, and he knew he had just killed someone. He had pulled the trigger._

_Peter looked down at the gun in his hand and then looked back up. Ben was standing in front of him, staring at him in shock and horror. Blood trickled from his mouth and Peter looked down, letting out a yell. The barrel was pressed against his uncle's chest, blood spreading across his chest. Peter's finger was tightened on the trigger._

_"Peter?" Ben reached up and cupped Peter's cheek, his eyes pleading, begging, as his knees gave out._

_He tried to catch him, he did, but his shaking hands failed him and Ben crumpled, hitting the ground on the street corner._

_"No-" Peter sobbed, dropping the gun and falling to his knees at his uncle's side. "Ben- I'm so sorry-"_

_"Not you Peter," Ben choked out, coughing up blood. "Why you?"_

_"No-" Peter said through tears, pressing his hands against the wound, feeling the blood pour over them._

_"You did this Peter." Hersh's voice came from behind him and Peter squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth._

_"Get out of MY HEAD!" Peter screamed, spinning and webbing the nearest thing he could, sending it flying into Hersh's chest._

A gurgle snapped Peter out of it. He blinked. He was back in the bathroom, the tile cracked from where he had pounded on it, the wall broken, the door off it's hinges. He focused himself, taking a deep breath before standing up.

"Tony, I'm sorry. I'm ok-" Peter froze and looked lower, his heart stopping. 

The piece of wall he had thrown at Hersh was embedded in Tony's side. He was leaning limp against the wall, his eyes staring at Peter sadly before he looked down to stare at the massive puncture wound. A pool of blood had started around his feet. 

"NO!" Peter screamed. 

Tony slid and hit the floor, a blood smear on the wall behind him. The man gasped, looking at Peter with disappointment and disbelief before he stopped blinking. 

Peter squeezed his eyes shut, unable to breath and crumpled to the ground. Anger heated up in his chest and Peter screamed in anguish, slamming both fists so hard against the ground they cracked, a ringing in his ears drowning out all other sounds until he was in silence. 

Tony didn't know whether he should call the suit over, or get out of the webs, or not get out of the webs. He yanked his arm again to no avail; Peter's webs were tight and flawless.

His voice was sore from yelling at the kid who had been thrashing on the ground for the past minute, the screams Peter let out getting too much for Tony. He hated not being able to do anything. He knew from experience that Peter needed space because that's what he had grown up with, and he also knew that trying to snap someone out of a panic attack like that was not the best option. It had to run it's course and he hated it. He didn't have any other options. The med bay doors were closed and the bathroom was in the very back, meaning there was an unlikelihood anyone could hear them, but even if they could hear him, Tony didn't want them coming. He had to fix this. 

The suit was just out of sight of the bathroom because Tony had yet to engage it; he had been worried it might trigger something worse, but when Peter went limp with sobbing, muttering a few words he could catch (that made Tony more furious than he possibly had ever been) he immediately called it in; he wouldn't watch this anymore.

The suit entered the room and landed next to him cautiously, reaching out to cut the webbing. Peter suddenly turned and spun and in his panic, Tony got a look at his eyes. They were narrowed and downright terrifying, flashing with anger, with an almost red tint. Peter shot two webs and then flung a section of wall he grabbed on the floor. The piece of rock dented the chest plate at the force Peter threw it and if it hadn't been for the new features Tony had included with the suit, the well placed webs would have made it a goner.

Tony panicked, waving the away, "Out- FRIDAY, _get it out_ -" The suit backed up as Peter collapsed to the floor again, his head whipping to the side like he had just been punched. 

"FRIDAY, get me the army knife," Tony hissed and the suit went over to the table, picking up the knife and tossing it to Tony who grabbed it and flicked it open, starting to hack at the webbing trapping his wrist. 

Peter was facing away from Tony, breathing hard, his hands pressed against the wall. Tony watched, still ripping at the webs as Peter's hands curled into fists and he heard a low growl and sob come from the teen's throat. Crap. 

Peter slammed both hands into the wall so hard it cracked and then the kid sank to the floor before falling onto his back, unmoving, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head.

"Peter!" Tony yelled, grunting as he pushed the knife harder against the webbing. It finally snapped and Tony staggered a bit against the wall, rubbing his hand before dropping the knife and rushing forward, sliding to the floor by the teen. 

"Hey, hey!" Tony shook his shoulders but Peter remained still, his eyes rolled up. "Parker, I swear to God-" Tony cursed, looking over the boy's unmoving form, his throat starting to close. "I'm gonna freaking slap you kid," he warned. "Don't make me- God- Peter!"

Peter gasped, blinking and coughing as he sucked in air and got his bearings.

"There we go bud, easy. Hi, welcome back," Tony masked his relief and helped Peter sit up, giving him his space. 

"Tony?" he asked. 

"Hey," Tony said breathlessly, cracking a small smile.

Peter's eyes went wide with disbelief, looking up at Tony in a mix of horror and relief, his gaze focused at a spot on Tony's side, "I- I killed you-" the kid stuttered in confusion, reaching out and grabbing Tony’s arm as if to make sure he was real.

Tony frowned and patted his chest and no, "Let me check- no, you didn't."

"What-" Peter's voice failed him. 

"Whatever you saw Peter, it wasn't real. Look at me. Focus, ok?"

"It- it's spinning," Peter winced, closing his eyes and putting his hands to his temples.

"I know kid," Tony said weakly.

"Just- give me- a- I'll fix this, I'm sorry-" The teen put his hands over his head, breathing hard. Tony sank to the ground in relief, reaching to clasp Peter's shoulder before he ran a hand over his face and through his graying hair. 

"Give it a week. My hair will be white. Look like freaking Santa Claus," Tony grumbled. 

"I don't know who that is," Peter mumbled in his arms.

Tony decided he would let that sink in later after the sharp pang he felt when Peter said that. The boy hadn't looked up and Tony took a breath. "You ok? Yes or no, don't lie to me," Tony said strictly.

"No comment," Peter responded. 

"You don't have to fix anything. Stop trying to. Take your time Peter, I'm in no rush. I've cleared my busy calendar just for you," Tony said, kicking himself for once again resorting to jokes. 

"A thank you card will be on your desk in the morning," Peter drawled. 

"You back with me at least?" Tony just wanted to clarify. "Not gonna go all..." he trailed off. 

"I- I don't know," Peter admitted looking up at him in fear. 

Tony studied his eyes for a quick minute before he nodded. "You are."

Peter frowned in confusion but then he winced, a shudder running through his spine. "You-" Peter shook his head, tears coming to his eyes. "I'm sorry-" He caught a glimpse of Tony's hand that still had some webbing on it, and he saw Peter's gaze shoot over and piece everything together. When the kid looked back at him, Tony glared at him, warning him not to say what he was going to.

"I hurt you-" Peter said firmly, pushing himself towards the wall. "I just snapped, I don't know what happened- I lost it- I-it went red I killed Ben, I killed _you!_ Tony what is happening to me-"

"Zip it Parker," Tony said fiercely, pointing at him firmly. "Just shut up for two seconds."

"But I-" Peter protested angrily.

"Ah, ah, the adult is talking, and since I just had to have one heart attack over your seemingly dead body, you better not make me do it again or I swear to God I will lose it-" Tony composed himself before he pointed at the dent in the wall, "Look at that." Peter's head swiveled. "Look at me," Tony said. Peter looked back at him. "That missed me," Tony said. "You never miss. Meaning you had control. Now, not a lot, I'll give you that, but you still had it, you fought it and you won."

"But-"

"Don't argue with me kid. Did that hit me?" Tony demanded. 

"No," Peter grumbled. 

"Ok," Tony nodded. 

"The second one though-" Peter argued but he faltered, because he knew it was done when he had a grip on himself, to save Tony from getting hurt. 

"I know why you did that one kid," Tony said gently. "And that was not HYDRA, that was you, trying to protect me, which, by the way," he frowned. "nice gesture, really appreciate it, but you web me again and we're having a serious talk, got it?"

Peter looked up at him, still trembling, but he managed a rough smile. 

"You're lucky you woke up, I was about to slap you," Tony grumbled. 

"That's child abuse, I'll sue you," Peter pointed out, pressing his back against the wall and taking a deep breath. 

"Eh, wouldn't make a dent in my savings," Tony joked.

"I lost it," Peter said suddenly. "I couldn't think, I couldn't see, it took me back to some of the worst memories I had, and then memories that weren't even mine, that didn't happen..."

"The brain is a horrible thing sometimes. And you've got a big one. We're cursed," Tony admitted. 

"I can't keep doing this Tony," Peter said weakly. "I can't do this with May. What am I gonna do if it just takes over again? I can't stop it."

"You did and you can stop it Peter," Tony said firmly.

"I'm ruined Tony," Peter said brokenly, staring at his hands that were limp between his legs. "I can't do this to May, I just can't- I can't even handle myself- I am screws up Tony, I am so screwed up-"

"Boo hoo, we all are. You think I don't have issues of my own?" Tony demanded. 

"No," Peter sniffed, "You're Tony Stark."

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Tony slurred. "I? I am a mess, a hot mess. I don't sleep much, I don't eat much, I still have panic attacks about something that happened 10 years ago. I second-guess everything I do. I am _all_ over the place, and my ego is through the roof. I use humor as a coping mechanism. I have countless flaws and I am never, ever sure of myself. But the one thing that I didn’t second-guess was you, Peter."

Peter's tension slowly eased and his shoulders relaxed. "Thanks."

"So shut up about the crap of you not trusting yourself. I don't want to hear it," Tony firmly. "You got it?"

Peter mumbled an answer and Tony reached over and clasped his shoulder. Peter looked at him and nodded. They both got to their feet and Peter looked around wincing. "Sorry about..."

"Hey, the mirror isn't broken," Tony pointed out. 

"Wupee," Peter slurred. "I'm sorry-" he added, looking at Tony guiltily. 

"Hey," Tony said, shaking his head. "That wasn't you."

"I know, but-"

"No buts or ands or any other conjunction," Tony held up a hand. "I told you I'm not afraid of you. I've seen much worse."

"You can't get worse than that," Peter grumbled. 

Tony made a face. "Yes you can. Who's older? Me. There are worse things. And you're back to normal now." Peter shrugged and Tony glanced up at him, "You had me there for a second though when you passed out," he admitted. 

A small mocking smile appeared on Peter's face, courtesy of the many times he had to snap out of the pain and terror back at the HYDRA base. "You weren't worried about me, were you?"

Tony scoffed, "Yeah I was." Peter looked up in shock that he admitted it until Tony turned around stone faced. "I'm your temporary legal guardian," he joked. "If anything happens to you I get in big trouble- what? Why are you laughing-"

Peter shook his head with a small grin that he was glad to see again. “I’m glad you’re not dead,” he said simply, looking down so Tony couldn't read his gaze. 

Tony grinned before he turned and reached across Peter's shoulder for the handle of the door that was half off of it's hinges. The knob fell off and he opened it manually when suddenly he looked down to see the kid against his chest. Peter's arms were wrapped hesitantly around his shoulders. Tony froze, looking at his outstretched hand that Peter had mistaken for a-

Tony smirks, "That's not a hug, I'm just grabbing the door for ya."

"Oh," Peter instantly pulls away, equally as shocked since he thought Tony had been the one to instigate the hug. He ducks under Tony's arm. 

"Yeah, we're not- we're not there yet," Tony grins, scooping up and throwing the sweatshirt onto Peter's head.

Peter yanked it off and scowled at him, running a hand through his hair, wincing as he nicked a cut, which reminded Tony of the butterfly bandage he had gotten out. Tony motioned Peter over and the teen trudged unhappily to sit up on the nearest table.

"Why's the chicken cross the road?" Tony asked as he got a cotton ball wet with alcohol. 

"Why did the- what?" Peter's brow furrowed and then he winced as Tony cleaned out the cut.

"It's a joke," Tony sighed.

"Well it's not funny," Peter grumbled. Tony rolled his eyes before applied the butterfly bandage. Peter winced, "Ow. Screw you."

"Well if you would stop moving," Tony countered.

"You know what that's called? An excuse," Peter mumbled.

Tony shot him a look before he clasped his hands, "Prognosis is you'll live."

"Great, now what?" Peter asked. It was a genuine question. What did he do? What did they both do? Tony knew the unfortunate answer. Bury it down, hide it, fake it, move on to save Peter's sanity. It was what the kid was best at, it was what he did for nine years and Tony knew it would kill him if he did anything different. 

"Pepper made us grilled cheese," Tony suggested. "You hungry kid?" he offered. 

"Yeah, actually..." Peter admitted, seemingly glad for some form of a distraction. 

Tony motioned him forward, "Let's go."

A little boy was walking with his mom and sister in the airport. His backpack was unzipped, a book hanging out and he had a small stuffed animal clutched in his grasp. He skipped, jumping over the cracks in the floor before he was guided to the waiting area. Hopping up onto his seat he carefully took a book out of his backpack, showing it to his sister who had blonde hair that was coming out of two braids. 

He settled down into his seat and opened the book, happily taking a box of animal crackers from his mom who ruffled his hair. He grinned as he ate a handful of them, making sure to check the animal each time of course, before he saw a plane move slowly across the tall windows. His eyes widened with glee and he set down his book and snack before he pointed to his mom. She smiled and nodded and he returned the look of joy. Gleefully jumping off his seat, his small legs sprinted over to the windows and he watched the planes with his hands and face pressed against the glass. 

He turned to look at the man who was announcing names and saw a woman walk in with a suitcase. She was immediately greeted by another person in a nice looking suit, like James Bond. Maybe it was James Bond... whoever it was it guided her to a seat. The boy's brow furrowed and he craned his head to see better before following them to the side of the waiting room. 

"Are you May Parker?"

The woman nodded, worry on her face. Her eyes crinkled, like his dad's did when he smiled. The boy smiled at the mention of the lady's name. His birthday was in May. He liked that month. 

"Your husband...there's been an accident."

Ben. That was a cool name. It started with the same letter as his. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about bees and then honey, and then what he had for school lunch, and then his teacher's poem at school he had to read in front of the class even though it wasn't that good- before a scream jolted him up.

"NO!"

The boy jumped, startled as the woman screamed. She shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face. The lady dropped her luggage, it just slipped out of her hand, and the boy blinked, frowning. Why was she sad? People cry when they're hurt, that's what his mom told him. Was she hurt? He walked slowly forward, his eyes concentrated as she sobbed, sinking into a seat with her head in her hands. 

The boy pushed through people who were standing to board their plane, cutting through the line, some of them moving out of the way and calling him 'buddy' and 'son' as they swerved around the determined boy. He made it halfway across the floor of the waiting room. He was so close-

Suddenly a hand grabbed his arm gently and steered him the other direction, "Brady, honey, come on."

Brady's blonde hair fell in front of his piercing blue eyes as he looked up at his mom who saw the commotion and frowned sadly.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" He pointed over his shoulder to the woman who was crying as he was pulled gently away. 

"I don't know honey," she admitted with a small, comforting smile. "Something bad."

"His name was Ben," Brady recalled happily, proud of himself for remembering such an important detail.

**8 Hours Later**

Peter and Tony were sitting opposite one another on the two couches in the center of the room. They were in the same position, head bent forward, eyes looking down, hands clasped. 

"It's late," Peter remarked. 

"Five o'clock somewhere," Tony responded. 

"You don't have to be here," Peter said quietly. 

"Technically I do," Tony countered. 

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do."

"Thanks," Peter looked up and Tony gave him a sad smile. 

"I did pretty well at the whole temporary guardian thing," Tony joked. "It was fun while it lasted."

Peter smirked and was about to respond when suddenly he snapped straight and listened, his hearing sharpening.

There was vibrations and pounding footsteps down the hallway and Peter looked up nervously, getting to his feet. He took a shaky breath, tears already coming to his eyes. 

"Kid, I'll be right here," Tony said firmly. 

"Yeah." Peter's eyes were set on the knob as it was hastily unlocked and shoved open, hitting the opposite wall. May burst in, her eyes finding Peter immediately as she surged forward with a choked cry.

"Peter?"

"May I-"

Tears streamed down both their faces as aunt and nephew embraced. May was sobbing and Peter was holding her tight, desperately trying to maintain his composure, telling her he was sorry. 

"I couldn't stop him May, I'm so sorry-"

"It's not your fault," she said firmly, cupping Peter's cheeks and pulling him in for another tearful hug. "You're ok- I'm so glad you're ok-"

Tony stood off to the side, his chin up as he stared at the pain that was rippling off in waves of the two individuals. His heart hurt for the kid. He waited a bit longer and then quietly left, closing the door behind him. They needed this. 

It was about 11:55 when he got a call. It was May's phone but somehow he knew someone else was on the other line. 

_"Hey."_

"Hey," Tony greeted the kid. "Remind me to get you a phone."

_"I didn't get a chance to say bye."_

"You both needed that. I didn't want to ruin it," Tony sighed, spinning a wrench on his finger. 

_"We talked,"_ Peter said hesitantly. _"It hurt. A lot. She went to bed."_

"Well yeah Jet lag and staying up for like 17 hours straight does that," Tony admitted. 

_"It's a wonder you're not dead,"_ Peter mumbled. 

"Heard that," Tony commented. 

_"My point is...thank you,"_ Peter said sincerely. 

"Are you ok kid? Be honest with me."

_"I will be."_

"You want to promise?"

_"I promise."_

"Horrible liar."

_"Tell that to HYDRA."_

Tony smirked, looking down, before he spoke firmly. "You need anything, you call, you understand?"

 _"Yeah,"_ Peter said in agreement. _"I'll- I'll be ok. I'm gonna go to bed."_

"Get some sleep kid," Tony said fondly. 

_"We'll see,"_ Peter admitted. _"I don't know when I'm coming to the compound next."_

"Whenever you want kid, door's open," Tony reminded him. 

_"Thanks. Can you tell the team what- what happened?"_

"Yeah Pete, I'll take care of it. Also you better not go to school tomorrow."

 _"We'll see,"_ Peter said firmly.

"Idiot. Also Peter? The man that killed your uncle, there's wanted posters all over the city-"

_"I know. An officer came by earlier. I talked to him."_

"I will do my best to find them before they do. He'll be off the streets Peter, we'll get him in jail, I promise...if that...makes you feel better."

 _"I haven't really thought about him,"_ Peter admitted. 

Tony straightened in surprise. "Well...good kid." He shook his head and switched tones, "Now go to bed or you won't get enough sleep and I'll have to deal with your tired butt in the lab."

_"You know what?"_

"What?"

_"Screw you."_

"Glad to see your sense of humor is still around. Just as kind and loving as the day I met you."

_"Very funny."_

"Night kid."

_"Night."_

Peter hung up the phone and took a deep breath. He locked his door and shoved on his mask. Opening his window silently, Peter jumped out, swinging to the bottom of the street. In his hand was a Wanted poster, crumpled in his hand. Peter fisted it, and swung into the night. He swung for about 8 minutes before his head turned and he flipped in midair, changing directions and landing in an alleyway behind some club. 

A man was there holding a gun to a woman who was emptying her purse. 

"HEY!" Peter yelled furiously, webbing the gun and flinging it around to hit the man in the face with it. He staggered back with a bloody nose and the woman picked up her purse and ran but Peter didn't stop her and ask if she was ok like he usually did. He had eyes for the mugger who was leaning against the wall as Peter closed in. 

"You like robbing people?" he snarled. "How about stores?"

"I don't know what you're talking about-" the man snarled and Peter webbed his hand, yanking him forward and punching him across the face harder then he ever had. The man fell flat and Peter yanked him up again, slamming him into the wall.

"Please-" the man groaned, slumped, meaning he had a few broken ribs. "I didn't even see your face-"

"Well I saw yours," Peter snarled furiously, grabbing the man by the throat and shoving him up the wall into the section lit with moonlight. Peter frowned. The man had blonde spikey hair, and green eyes filled with terror. It was not Ben's killer. 

Peter furiously let him drop and the man lay in a crumpled heap. Peter backed away, "You're lucky." He shot a web and swung around the corner into the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Lmk! <3 Writing intense scenes is always hard because there's never much resolve for those two. Both of their coping mechanisms is humor and they're both awkward and they still have only known each other for a short amount of time. SO i hope I did that concept justice because it's always a rollercoaster to write and avoid talking about everything I want to <3  
> Next chapter is gonna be roughhhhh muhahahhaa you probably know what's gonna happen. And we may.............................................................get our first real hug next chapter. :) I said it.  
> Thank you for reading, have a wonderful day, and I hope I can get the next chapter out normal time- I will do my best :)  
> So stay tuned!! And thank you all so much for your support! Also yes, if you ever read my first marvel fic I Got You First, I named Brady after that character because I love that kid XD haha that ones an oldie. Idk if you caught that lol  
> Ok! See you all soon! Thank you so so much for reading, I hope you liked it!!  
> I love you all 3000


	15. Off the Deep End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO LOVELY PEOPLE!!!!!! GET READY FOR THE LONGEST CHAPTER YET- I'm not even kidding. I just couldn't stop and there was so much to cover but yall deserve it- you've had a long wait. (life has not been kind I apologize and this month is crazy) I have my ACT tmrw so I wanted to get this out and this is honestly my fav chapter so far. A LOT HAPPENS  
> Peter has gone off the deep end to the point where I didn't recognize him while writing him, the other characters don't recognize him, and even he doesn't recognize him himself. So this is sort of a dark chapter but it has a happy- well no it doesn't. You shall see.  
> ENJOY THE READ! And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!!!

It was raining, which was fitting, he guessed. The grass was wet and the sky was grey, clouds blocking out the sun. Everyone had black umbrellas, a small shroud to the downfall. Peter had on a black suit and a tie, his hands folded in front of him. May was next to him and she rubbed his arm, giving him a smile. Peter smiled back sadly before gulping harshly. 

The dirt was piled up on the side of the large rectangular hole in the ground. The coffin was being held up by 4 of Ben's friends whom Peter didn't know but they kept shooting him sympathetic looks. Someone was speaking but Peter didn't hear them very well due to the ringing in his ears. Everything was muffled. The wind howled and people pulled their coats together. Peter looked around and saw everyone holding tissues but not a single tear went down his face. He subconsciously wouldn't let it. Not in front of people. 

The man at the front finished what he was saying and the 4 men started to lower the casket in. May gripped his hand and Peter squeezed it back, forcing it not to shake. As the wood edge dissapeared into the ground he caught his breath. May was suddenly called forward and she left Peter's side, handing him the umbrella as someone guided her over under the shelter of one. They offered her the shovel and May took it in silence, tears streaming down her face. Her hands gripped it but they stayed frozen, her mouth set, her eyes glued to the coffin. 

Peter surged forward and stood next to her, looking up at her and giving her a nod, placing his hand on hers to help her lift it. Together they dropped the first patch of dirt in the whole and Peter flinched at the sound. It was hollow and unforgiving, and it hit Peter like a smack to the face. He pursed his lips and pried the shovel out of May's hands, returning it to one of the men before they walked back to the spot. 

20 minutes later everyone slowly trickled away, some family members staying after to try and console May, and talk to Peter, who respectfully declined. He gave his umbrella to a little girl who was getting wet, not minding the rain too much. He stayed by the side of the grave which had been covered and was now just a large messy rectangle of dirt. His hands were shaking so he put them in his pockets, clenching his fists beneath the soaked fabric. 

Some time later, May came to his side, offering him an umbrella. He shook his head, smiling weakly at her and attempted to find his voice. "Mind if I...stay here just for a bit?"

May's eyes were filled with understanding and she nodded, rubbing his arm, "Take all the time you need Peter. Just come to the car after, ok honey?"

Peter nodded. 

"You sure you don't want an um-"

"I'm ok May, thanks," Peter said firmly. He didn't deserve one. 

May looked at him sadly and gave him a hug anyway, even though he was wet. "I love you."

"I love you too," Peter whispered. May's hand left his shoulder and he returned to staying at the grave. It became silent. Rain ran down his face, soaking him and he blinked, shifting his weight. 

"God, I'm so sorry Ben," Peter said to no one in particular, in a harsh, low, voice that was easily drowned out by even the slightest breeze. He took a deep shaky breath, his whole body trembling. He blinked away drops of rain that slid down his face. There was not a part on his body that wasn't soaked. Minutes passed and Peter stared, wondering what he could have done, what he could do now to fix this. He wishes he could change what he did but he can't and it's eating away at him. The guilt is so overwhelming Peter feels like he's drowning in it. 

_"No-"_ _There was so much blood- too much blood._

_"Kid step back-"_

_"No- get- that's-" Peter shoved the hand off desperately, his eyes wide and scared, filled with fear. "That's my Uncle! That's my Uncle!"_

_"Peter-" Ben's mouth filled with blood._

_"I'm here," Peter cried, pressing both hands to the bullet wound, feeling the warm stickiness seep through his clasped fingers. "I'm here. You're gonna be ok. You're gonna be ok. Someone call an ambulance!"_

_"Peter-" Ben's smiling at him. Smiling..._

_"No, you're gonna be fine. Just hang in there Uncle Ben, ok? Please- stay with me. You're gonna be just fine."_

_"Peter." Just his name again. Only his name. Ben's eyes closed and his head fell to the side, his hand sliding off his nephew's knuckles. It hit the pavement as Peter's mouth opened in a silent scream. "BEN!"_

"You're gonna catch a cold," said the person he had known was approaching for the last minute. 

"Hi," Peter said flatly, snapping himself out of the flashback. "Thanks for coming," he said softly, his voice breaking.

"Of course kid," Tony said, stepping up beside him. "I stayed towards the back. I didn't think it would be...appropriate if I was up front because I didn't know him that well."

Peter knew what that meant, _I'm sorry I wasn't there with you._ His eyes didn't leave the grave but his voice explained he wasn't upset, "I know."

Tony stared at the grave too and said slowly, "It wasn't your fault Pete-"

"Everyone's been telling me that," Peter nodded, clenching his hands into fists again. He grit his teeth, "Everyone. Like they get what happened."

"Doesn't matter if they know exactly what happened. They're still right," Tony said firmly. 

Peter didn't answer that. He stayed staring at the grave, his lips pursed together. After a minute, he felt tears in his eyes and he took another shaky breath, gulping and trying to compose himself. The rain got harder and Peter didn't really mind, but apparently Tony did because he pulled another umbrella out and opened it, giving it to Peter. 

"Don't you make me hold this," Tony said pointedly. 

Peter grabbed it from him without looking and wrapped his hands around the wooden handle, letting it rest against his shoulder. He blinked the remaining water that fell into his eyes and felt some dripping from his bangs. 

Peter gripped it harder as his chest grew tighter. The dirt was more packed in, solid, irreversible. Peter felt a tear slip and he let it, staring angrily at the grave. Furious with himself, Peter continued to stare, his legs locking underneath him, his teeth starting to ache from clenching them. Another tear fell and he gulped harshly, his throat closing on him. Peter shivered and suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder but for some reason he didn't flinch. 

"Let's go, Pete," Tony said gently. 

Peter almost shook him off, protesting, "No- I want to-"

"Blame yourself for the next hour? Stand in the rain? Tear yourself apart by thinking of ways it could have been different?" Tony cut him off. 

Peter grumbled something inaudible to avoid admitting Tony was right. He looked up at Tony with distinguishable tears running down his cheeks. "I just met him. I just got back a part of my life, a part of my family and now it's - he's gone." Peter's nose scrunched as he blinked, causing more tears to fall, "It's not fair. He didn't deserve that. Not like that Tony..."

"I know kid," Tony said softly, "I know."

"I miss him," Peter said brokenly, looking back at the grave.

"I know you do kid," Tony agreed, his hand still on Peter's shoulder. Peter lowered his head, tears slipping down his cheeks when he felt a tug on his arm. Tony motioned toward May's car and nodded. Peter let him slowly turn him around, but he dropped the umbrella, his arm going limp at his side. The older man grabbed and closed it in one fluid motion, before he moved closer to shelter Peter and lead him back to the car with his arm around him. 

They stopped outside the front of the car and Peter rubbed his face with his wet sleeve before he looked at Tony who nodded with encouragement. He nodded back and took a deep breath, "Thanks Tony."

"Don't do anything stupid," Tony responded, looking at him firmly. "Ok? You don't need to prove yourself. You don't need to find the guy. This is not your fault Peter, you understand me?"

Peter nodded as he opened the door and slid in, "I know." 

**8 Days Later**

_CRACK_

The man howled as two of his fingers snapped and he gasped in shock, looking at the bent bones, still struggling to get out of the grasp holding him. "You- you broke my-"

"You've got eight more," Peter snarled, shoving him away before he knocked him across the head. The man slumped unconscious and Peter picked up the Wanted poster and shot a web, flinging himself into the air. This was day 8 of searching for Ben's killer, and he wasn't any closer than he was when he first went out. He worked at night, usually after May went to bed, preying on those that liked to prey on other people. Tonight he had gone out extra early because May was working a night shift so she wouldn't be home till morning. Peter went out right after school and had gotten dinner out on the town, his motive turning more personal after the sun went down. But no luck. 

A couple minutes later he heard a small alarm and he swung to the top of the building, squinting to look down at the city. He closed his eyes and listened before swinging down a couple blocks, banking a hard left before flipping to the top of a building just as the alarm stopped below him. Zeroing in on his culprit Peter jumped off the building and swung. He narrowed his eyes and let go at the perfect timing, spiraling down and slamming the man in the back, probably breaking a few of his ribs as he hit the pavement in front of the store he was trying to rob. 

Peter yanked the man to his feet, throwing him effortlessly through the glass window. Shards the size of pebbles scattered along the floor as the sound made Peter's ears ring for a second. Peter stepped calmly through the glass unbothered, while the man's hands bled as he tried to get away. Peter had to walk through glass in bare feet back at HYDRA, so this was nothing. 

"Please! Please-" the man cried out, his face covered with a black mask. 

Peter knelt, grabbing his collar, "Did you give my uncle mercy?"

"Your uncle-" the man stuttered, clearly in pain, and Peter didn't care. "Man, I have no idea what you're talking about- I'l leave, please just let me go-"

Peter grit his teeth and punched the man in the face, ripping off his mask. His heart sank. It wasn't Ben's killer. The man's nose was bleeding and his eyes were wide and fearful.

Peter staggered a bit at that. He had spent his whole life being afraid of people. This wasn't right... The red tint of his vision died down and he took a deep breath. Peter's brow furrowed in confusion, and he almost regained control of himself at that moment and walked away. Almost. But his hands were shaking and his chest was hot and whenever he had the urge that he was doing something wrong, a shot rang out and Ben's blood was soaking his hands and Peter was lying in the street crying and-

_"Do not fail me again Peter," Hersh demanded, grabbing Peter's chin and looking at him with distain._

_"I can't-" Peter looked at him with pleading eyes. "This is wrong."_

_"Wrong is all due to perspective," Hersh hissed. "Lessons must be taught. You fail me again and we'll have to reteach some things."_

_Peter involuntarily shivered, trying to smother the hate in his gaze and he nodded, gritting his teeth before he slowly got to his feet._

_"You're a weapon. Act like one. Don't ruin your potential," Hersh snarled._

_Peter's eyes narrowed and he felt the men restless behind him. He bent his knees and flipped up, webbing the two underneath them and slamming them into the ground, landing on their backs and webbing them to the ground. Peter ducked a shot and caught the next man's gun. The man pulled out a pistol and shot Peter in the shoulder but he didn't even flinch, grabbing the gun and snapping it and the man's hand up. He slammed it into his head with so much force he was knocked unconscious immediately, ignoring the small annoying sting in his shoulder. Peter flipped over another, snapping his arm across his back without even hesitating before punching him in the face, blood staining his knuckles. Peter's eyes were red and furious and he flung a man into the door, breaking it off it's hinges. He punched the last man in the chest and felt his ribs crack before he ripped the gun from his grasp and fired it at his leg. The man dropped and Peter kicked downward as he did a flip, decking the man to the ground for the final blow. Peter landed on one kne_ _e and dropped the gun before looking up at Hersh, breathing hard._

_"Good," the man smiled._

Peter's spider senses tingled and he snapped back to reality, instinctively swerving as the man groaned, rolling over and firing his gun. Peter moved out of the way, grabbing his wrist, but the bullet still ripped through the side of his shoulder, skimming his skin just enough to make him flinch. Peter smacked the gun away and grabbed the man by his throat, lifting him up.

Peter's eyes narrowed, his breathing quickening as he gripped the picture in his hand, shoving it in the man's face as he snarled, "Do you know him?"

"No- buddy- I don't-"

Peter snarled, curling his fist, wrinkling the paper, "Don't lie to me!"

"I swear! I swear I don't! I have no idea who he is- please!" the man cowered under Peter's grip. No one can fake true fear and Peter let him drop. He webbed both of his hands to the ground before he hopped over the broken glass and shot a web, swinging into the night. 

He switched swinging arms to gain more altitude and suddenly his arm buckles, pain flaring in his shoulder. Blood soaked his suit and Peter cursed as he fumbled, falling in midair since he was forced to let go of the web from the sudden jolt of pain that came from the bullet wound. He shot a web to save himself with his good arm, sending himself catapulting in the air to catch his bearings. Peter cursed and looked at his watch. 

1:16

He had to get back, especially if he was going to clean up this injury before getting some homework and suit patching done. Oh and sleep...that too. He swung the rest of the way back to the apartment, practically slamming into the wall he was so tired. He just caught himself on a ledge and pulled himself up one handed, deciding on the fire escape to at least get halfway up the building.

His arm was stinging and Peter couldn't help but think that if he was in HYDRA, this would not be slowing him down. He was better trained there. He took pain easier. He didn't slow down. He wasn't weak. Now he was all those things, and part of him wondered, if he had been trained, and if he had let that power out when he had the chance, maybe he could have prevented Ben's death. Peter couldn't believe he was saying this, but maybe what HYDRA taught him wasn't that bad. In there he had kept fighting with 3 bullet wounds at one point. Now 1 was slowing him down? 

Peter walked up the creaking stairs with a hand clutched over his bleeding shoulder, the cotton stained dark red. He then slid off the edge, walking along the edge before he stuck to the wall and started slowly climbing, dodging windows. A light came on and Peter jumped to the side of the building, his foot slipping for just a second. He caught himself with his good arm, his muscles straining as he pulled himself up. Waiting a second to catch his breath, he scaled the side of the building back on course and arrived at his windowsill. He eased himself up and cursed a bit from the pain before turning slowly and pulling off his mask. His hair poofed up but his bangs stuck to his forehead from sweat. Gripping it in his hand, he twisted his good arm behind him to slide open the window.

It wouldn't budge. 

Peter tried again, just in case, but it wouldn't open. A small click of the latch jiggling sounded, confirming his fears. Peter cursed. He was 100% positive he had left it open before he had gone to school. May didn't really go in his room so she didn't close it. That meant-

Peter peeked through the window, scanning his room. Then, in perfect unison with the person in his room he shouted, falling backward. His arms windmilled and he fell a few feet before reaching out an arm to shoot a web- unfortunately his bad one- to latch on to the window. Peter bit his arm in pain to mask a scream and then put his feet against the side of the building, beginning a slow crawl back up to the window, gritting his teeth. 

The web was directly in the center and Peter peeked over the side hesitantly. Then he cursed to himself as the person came over and undid the latch, opening the window. Furiously, Peter opened it the rest of the way and flipped in, closing the window behind him as the other person stumbled back. 

He turned around and the two boys stared at each other in shock. 

"You're- oh My God Peter- you're- you're Spiderman?"

"I- uh?" Peter said weakly, his voice slightly higher. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Yeah, nice try Peter," Ned countered with a frozen expression of pure shock and awe and confusion. "Holy crap," he whispered. "You're Spiderman? From Youtube!"

Peter shook his head desperately, his eyes wide, "I'm not! I'm not. This is just a costume, ok? Just a-" Peter took off the vest and spread his arms, wincing at the pain in his shoulder wound. 

"You were climbing up the building! The- the web-" Ned spluttered, pointing at the window that still had a bit of the web stuck to it. 

"No I wasn't- Ned! What are you doing here?" Peter demanded, throwing his mask to his bed. 

"Yesterday at school, I asked if I could come over and study and build the Death Star and you said yes and May had told me where the spare key was because she said you were at school late, but I didn't remember you telling me you were going to be at school late so I came anyway and let myself in and sure enough you weren't here but I didn't tell anyone because I figured you wanted it a secret- I didn't think it would be this though-"

"Slow down," Peter muttered, pressing both hands to his temples, his shoulder screaming at the movement. 

"So then I thought, wait, maybe he's in trouble," Ned said excitedly, "or he was mugged, so then I-"

"If that had actually happened I would have been dead by now. Thanks for your concern," Peter pointed out. 

"I had a feeling," Ned said defensively, "and I was debating on calling May first. I called you but you didn't answer-"

"My phone's in my backpack," Peter said simply. 

Ned blinked, "And where's your phone?" 

"On the wall above the dumpster in the alley- shoot. Ugh, thanks for reminding me," Peter groaned, starting to take off his boots and toss them to the side. 

"Woah," Ned whispered, like that was such a cool detail. "But good thing I didn't call May-" his friend's eyes widen. "Wait! Does she know?"

Peter looked up at him, "Are you crazy? No! Of course she doesn't know! No one knows! Well Mr. Stark knows-"

"Tony Stark knows you?" Ned spluttered. 

"Yeah," Peter said weakly. "We go way back."

Ned gasped and said softly, "Are you an Avenger?"

"Are you kidding me? No," Peter laughed. 

"Do you want to be?" Ned grilled him. 

Peter hesitated, "I don't...know-"

"Look, before you say anything," Ned took a deep breath and put up a hand, somehow effectively silencing Peter. "Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay- gah! I’ll level with you." Ned winced and the next sentence came out in a torrent of words that Peter barely followed. "I don’t think I can keep this a secret. This is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me- Peter!"

Peter pressed a hand to the bridge of his nose and violently shook his head, "Ned, just listen to me, you have to keep this a secret, especially from May."

"A secret? Why?" Ned makes a face, like Peter just asked him to solve world freaking hunger. 

Peter makes a face back and hisses, "If she finds out people try and kill me every single night, she’s not going to let me do this anymore! She cannot know. With Ben...with everything that's happened with her, just I- come on, Ned, please. She can't know. You know she can't know. She's already- we both are-"

Ned looked down and nodded. 

"Please," Peter pleaded. 

"Okay," Ned nodded again, more firmly, offering Peter a small smile. 

"Just swear it, okay?" Peter asks, to try and reassure himself.

"I swear."

Peter breaths a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

Ned nods, "Yeah."

Peter lets out a groan and starts pacing the room, running his hands through his hair. "I can't believe this is happening right now."

Ned suddenly pipes up, "Can I try the mask on?" He's holding in his hands and Peter storms over, shooting him a look and snatching it away in annoyance.

"No."

"How does it work?" Ned asked, "Like you climbing up the wall?"

"Uh...it's complicated," Peter slurred slowly.

"Is it magnets? How do you shoot the strings?"

"They're webs, and that's not part of the suit," Peter said. 

"No offense but you are in desperate need of an upgrade. It's not much of a suit then it is just sweats and a sweatshirt with swimming goggles," Ned snickered off topic, picking up the vest Peter had taken off.

Peter snatches it, scowling, "Ok, well money's a little tight. You wanna give me a thousand bucks so I can build a better one?"

"You literally know one of the richest men in the world. Why hasn't he given you a suit yet?"

"I-" Peter ponders that and admits. "Just a lot going on...maybe he's waiting- I don't really know- and no. No, no, no. I can do this by myself, I don't need Tony to make a suit, I'll make one. And it will be better."

Ned couldn't hide his snort and he quickly waved his hands at the look Peter gave him. "Totally kidding. Anyway, anyway wait. Wait...if they- the webs- if they're not part of the suit then...that means-" he looks up at Peter in shock. "Oh my God."

"Yep," Peter says weakly. 

"Ok, you have to tell me what happened," Ned said, literally jumping up and down on the bed. 

Peter gave him a sad smile and lied, "Long story short I was bitten by a radioactive spider."

"Woah," Ned marvels, "That's so cool! Can it bite me? Well, it probably would’ve hurt, right? You know what? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I’d let it bite me. Maybe. How much did it hurt?"

Peter thought about that and decided to kill the question thread with a firm, "The spider’s dead, Ned."

"Darn," Ned sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"No, not darn. It's good. It had killed people- I mean, it could have killed people. People die of spider bites all the time," he quickly recovered, flicking his gaze to see if Ned had been phased but his friend was in too much shock to really register anything. 

"Huh," Ned said blankly, before his head snapped up. "Do you lay eggs?"

Peter laughed at the absurd question, grinning as he surprised himself with a giggle, "What? No."

"Can you spit venom?"

Peter raised an eyebrow, "That would be useful. But no."

"Can you summon an army of spiders?" Ned asked, his eyes gleaming. 

And now Peter was officially getting annoyed. Suppressing a sigh he looks up and drawls, "No, Ned."

"How far can you shoot your webs?"

"I actually don't-" he began to admit.

"If I was you, I would stand on the edge of a building and just shoot it as far as I could-" Ned said, still bouncing up and down on Peter's bed. 

Peter snorts, "Oh my God- shut up, Ned."

"Do you know Captain America?" Ned asks. 

"Yeah," Peter slowly grins. "He tried to knock me out with his shield first time we met."

Ned's jaw drops, "AWESOME."

Peter grins and looks down, "Yeah."

"Hawkeye?"

"Good at darts."

"Dude- you know the Avengers!" Ned whooped. 

Peter cracked a smile, "Yeah, yeah I do." He shook his head and started peeling off his sweatshirt as his friend started talking about superpowers and being famous when suddenly Ned cut off. Peter turned and saw his friend staring at him- at his arm. 

Peter winced, "It's fine."

"Oh my God-" he jumps off Peter's bed and starts forward nervously. "Peter, you're bleeding."

"Wow, well at least I know you can see. Acute observation Ned," Peter slurs as he slowly pulls off his shirt to reveal the actual severity of the wound. 

"What happened?" Ned exclaimed. 

"Got shot. Just nicked. But I bring webs to a gun fight. Took care of it," Peter said proudly, not willing to admit the reason or the circumstances. Whatever anger or fire was in him was gone for the moment and Peter felt like himself again. Instead of remind himself of what happened he spluttered, "By the way, why are you up so late?"

"Well I got here at 8. Some school things end at 10. So I waited longer. And then you didn't come home," Ned admitted. "i thought something went wrong."

Wow. "Thanks man," Peter said earnestly. He was sort of shocked that Ned had done that. 

"I also got to face time Betty for like two hours so it wasn't a big deal," Ned grinned. 

"Wow," Peter laughed. "No offense, but you are not the person I want to save my life if it ever came down to it." Ned laughed with him and Peter smiled earnestly before checking his wound. "Ok, I'm gonna go try and make sure I don't die from an infection, ok? We'll study after, just give me like five minutes."

"Study?" Ned howled with laughter. "You seriously think I can study after the biggest reveal of the year? Yeah right. I have so many questions."

Peter groans and starts to walk to his bathroom, the blood pouring over his knuckles reminding him of Ben. It's just about making him lose it but he doesn't want Ned to see him like that so he forces himself to grow up and pull himself together as he goes into the bathroom, making sure he doesn't get blood on the carpet.

"I'm gonna tell you about it all," Peter sighs. 

Ned grins and gives him a thumbs up, leaning against the wall and looking up, drawling out, "I have the bestest best friend ever."

Peter rolls his eyes and started to wash off his cut on his shoulder, Ned suddenly falling into the bathroom to look at it on shock, "Woah- woah- it was not that- it closed? You should be bleeding a lot more-"

"Healing factor," Peter said weakly, knowing he wouldn't be able to hide that from his friend. 

Ned's eyes bugged and he fell limp against the cabinet, "I'm done. My mind is just...I can't believe this right now."

Peter gave him a look, "How do you think I feel?" 

Ned gave him a sheepish smile as Peter winced. He nodded to Peter's cut, "So...what happened?"

Peter looked down, just in case Ned could read his expression to the very fine detail like he was taught at HYDRA. "Some guy was robbing a store. Turned a little violent and he pulled a gun while I had my guard down. I dodged but not fast enough. I should be fine. I've had worse."

Ned gasped, "Worse?"

Peter almost laughed. "Yeah," he repeated. "Much worse." Peter opened the bottom cabinet with his foot and webbed alcohol bottle he kept under the sink. He splashed it over his arm and winced, letting it drip into the sink with gritted teeth. 

"Doesn't that hurt?" Ned wondered. 

Peter looked over his shoulder in amusement and shrugged, "Yeah. A bit."

Minutes later they were back in Peter's room and his cut was stitched up. Peter was sporting a clean hoodie and sweatpants and they were sitting on the floor, mostly talking about Peter's powers. Ned had brought out the LEGO Death Star he had mentioned and they had gotten pretty far on that, deciding that after they were done fot the night, it could stay in Peter's room until they finished it. 

"Thanks for keeping this a secret Ned," Peter spoke up. "I- I really appreciate it."

Ned grinned, "How does it feel being famous but no one knows it's you?" 

Peter smiled to himself and admitted, "Crazy."

"Should we tell everyone?" Ned asked for about the 10th time that night. Peter shot him a look. "I was totally kidding," Ned assured him, tossing him a piece that Peter carefully fit in. "You're really good with this."

Peter smirks. "Well, between my mechanic and tech I did when I was a kid and then Tony's suits I have a pretty good understanding of-"

"My best friend helps Iron Man make his suits and is Spiderman. Awesome," Ned marveled. 

Peter leans against his bed and for two seconds he feels as if he's a normal kid. Then the wanted poster catches his eye from the side of the room and he grips the carpet with his fist. He has to fake a smile for the rest of the night, and Ned never notices. 

Tony was in the lab the next day and he checked his watch. He had just had lunch with Pepper, driven by Happy who didn't realize the deal included sitting in the car. Peter should be coming any minute. He had just finished working some more on the kid's suit. Red and blue like the sweatshirt and sweatpants Peter had, with an A.I. just for him. He included a parachute, heater- everything the could possibly need, he hopes. He was going to give it to him the night Ben got shot, but after the whole issue with the gang, call it a grudge but Tony decided to wait. Then he got a call from the hospital and that night turned to hell, so he never got a chance to tell the kid. And it didn't seem like an appropriate thing to give the teen while he was recovering from the loss of his uncle. So Tony had kept it hidden, even the Avengers didn't know about it, and he had been adding to it ever since. 

"Hey."

Tony turned and saw the kid come in, jogging down the steps and drumming his hands on the table. He quickly exited the tab he had open for adding flexible glide flaps to the side of Peter's suit. "Hey Pete," Tony greeted him. "How was school?"

Peter hesitated as he rocked back and forth on his heels, "Not the best."

With a raise of an eyebrow, Tony began to fix an Iron Man gauntlet without leaving Peter's gaze. "How so?"

"Ned has a big mouth so it was a stressful day trying to keep it shut," Peter said carefully, clasping his fingers as he leaned forward on the table to peer into Tony's work. His hands were dangerously close to the sparks Tony was making. 

He cracked a smile, shoving Peter gently as he stopped for a second. "Back up; I will laugh if you get burnt," Tony said before he resumed his task. "But what happened kid?"

"Hefo-nd...out," Peter mumbled. 

"English? Sorry, I don't speak Portuguese," Tony sighed. 

"Ned found out," Peter said more clearly and louder. "About Spiderman."

"About you being Spiderman," Tony clarified slowly. 

Peter shot him a look, "No. About- yes about me!" Peter rolls his eyes. "He knows, but he said he's not gonna tell anyone, so we're good."

"You trust him?" Tony asked. 

"Well I don't really trust an-" Peter trailed off as if he rethought his statement, glancing at him and murmuring, "Yeah, I guess. For the most part."

Tony pointed at him, "You know I can always eliminate him..." Tony made a throat cut motion and nodded. 

"Shut up," Peter laughed. "Also Natahsa told me to call you Anthony and see how you would react."

Tony scoffed and faced him, "Oh she did, did she?"

"It was kind of all of them actually," Peter admitted with a small smile that Tony hadn't seen a lot since Ben died. "So Anthony, how does it make you feel?"

"I have a wrench and I will throw it at you," Tony shrugged casually.

"Point taken," Peter nodded. "But I could dodge it anyway."

"Sure," Tony said, spinning it on his finger in contest. Then he sobered his voice and glanced at the kid, "How's May?"

Peter looked down and shifted from side to side, coming to a nod. "She's hanging in there. It's tough. She's been working night shifts a lot because she can't sleep."

"And how about you?" Tony said, asking the more important question. 

Peter shrugged, "Fine."

Tony hated to admit it, but as far as he could tell, Peter was acting okay. Aside from a few freak outs last week, Peter had been quiet about the whole thing, overly energized in the lab and at meetings with the team, brushing off questions, as if he was trying to cover something up. Tony knew people handle death differently, and with what Peter had been through it made sense. That kid was brought up pushing everything down, burying his feelings. After Peter snapped at the hospital and in the bathroom when they got back he hadn't had anything like that, almost like he found a way to cope with it, or he got better at controlling it. 

The funeral was the last time Tony saw Peter broken or show any emotions about the loss of his uncle. Granted, Tony had not seen Peter a lot since then, but he liked to think he knew the kid pretty well. Tony also knew he had only met him more than a month ago, but he already had a bad feeling. Something was wrong. Peter had found a way to cope with it, but Tony didn't know how. The kid put on an act whenever he came, something he rarely did. He faked everything, but kept it real enough that no one noticed. Something was bothering him but it had gotten to the point where either he thought it couldn't be helped or he was slowly getting twisted by whatever was happening. 

"Oh yeah?" Tony said, deciding to press a bit. "How much did you sleep?"

"Enough," Peter said simply. 

"Peter-"

"8 hours."

"Funny."

"Fine, two. I never slept well anyway, ok? Doesn't matter," Peter snapped, walking past him and in his fast pace he bumped his arm on the cabinet. Peter hissed, grabbing his shoulder as he cussed under his breath.

Tony looked up in shock, confused and concerned. "What's wrong with your arm?" he asked.

"Nothing," Peter said shortly. "Just a bruise. Drop it, please Tony?" Peter turned around and winced apologetically, "Sorry, just really crappy day." 

"Yeah," Tony said slowly, returning to his work on the gauntlet with a shake of his head. 

About 4 hours later, Peter and Tony walked into the dining room where the team was. The tension between them, that had been building for a while now, eased, as they walked in the room.

"Hey guys," Steve called, nodding at them. 

"Did you call him Anthony?" Clint grinned at Peter. 

"Yeah, and I'll smack you for that Barton," Tony warned. 

Natasha laughed, "Didn't I tell you he'd get all pissy?"

Peter smirked, "You did."

"We've got salad and mac and cheese," Vision announced.

"Enough to feed an army," Rhodey snickered. "Someone doesn't know what serving size is."

"Yet we're probably gonna have to make more," Wanda admitted. 

"Does the salad have vegetables in it?" Sam asked. 

Rhodey stared at him with a blank face, "Yes genius, it does."

"I'll have the mac and cheese then," Sam called, picking up one of the magazines on the table.

"You don't chose you idiot," Rhodey scoffed, leaning against the wall. "You're eating both, or Pepper will whip your-"

"Anything on the new equipment from the HYDRA base?" Bucky wondered. 

Tony nudged Peter, going over to grab a glass of wine. 

Peter nodded, "Yeah, I decoded a few of their files. They had more programs and initiatives then we first thought. A lot of bodies because of it too, which filled in some long missing blanks. A few maps and locations, but most of the bases have either been relocated or destroyed so nothing on that. But Tony got a name and we're working on tracking that guy down. He's somewhere in Austria."

Steve smiled, "Good. We're close." 

Peter nodded as he sat down, "Feels good."

Tony took a seat next to him, swirling his wine. Clint scoffed, "You didn't get me any Stark?" 

"You didn't ask. Your legs work last time I checked," Tony grinned, taking a sip. 

Clint rolled his eyes and groaned as he got to his feet, Sam immediately grabbed the empty seat as Clint walked away. "He ain't getting this back," he laughed. 

"You know for a millionaire, you still don't have enough chairs," Rhodey commented, slapping Tony on the shoulder. 

"Billionaire," he corrected. "And ok, kick you out then look at that, perfect amount," Tony spread his hands. Rhodey slapped him on the shoulder as he walked by. 

Tony turns back to see Peter pulling up his sleeve and putting his arm on the table, his hand outstretched. Steve is doing the same on the other side. "Oh no," Tony laughed. 

"He challenged me," Peter said cockily. 

"Techincally Clint did," Steve corrected. 

"Nah, you're just saying that because you know you're gonna lose Rogers. Kick his butt kid," Tony rubbed Peter's shoulder.

Peter looked behind him and grinned and Steve spluttered, "Woah Stark, which side are you on?"

"Peter's," Tony said simply, putting his feet up on the table since Pepper wasn't here. 

Steve and Peter grasped hands and Clint said, "Ready- set-"

Peter suddenly got to his feet, unclasping his hand and reaching into his pocket. He pointed to his phone which was buzzing. It was too far away to read the name on it but he stuttered, "I've- I've got to take care of something. Give me a sec," he said, excusing himself. 

Tony saw Clint was about to make a joke, probably about excuses, but from the tone of voice Peter just displayed, Tony shot him a look and Barton nodded, holding his tongue as he watched Peter leave in concern. 

"Your seat's gonna get taken kid!" Steve warned with a smile. 

Without looking at anyone, Peter hurriedly left the room, pressing the phone to his ear as he rounded the corner. When the team was satisfied he was out of hearing range, even for someone like Peter, Rhodey asked, "How is the kid doing?"

"He had a rough day," Tony admitted. "He snapped at me a couple times in the lab. The stress is getting to him."

"No, about Ben," Wanda pressed. 

"That's the thing. I don't know," Tony admitted. "He's really closed off about it. He hasn't talked in forever. He seems different, and that's expected, but just...something's off. But what am I saying?" Tony pressed both hands to his temples and took a breath, "Of course something's off. The kid just lost his uncle."

"Maybe he found a way to cope with it?" Vision suggested.

"Either that or he found a better way to hide it," Steve shrugged, "and with Peter I'd guess the second one."

"I know that kid," Tony said firmly. "He's hiding something, but it's not that. Something's going on, something I don't know about, and I don't know if it's at school, or with May-"

"And he doesn't think he can ask because he thinks that's overstepping," Pepper interrupted, rounding the corner and kissing him on the cheek. 

"Because it is!" Tony protested, offering Pepper his seat before standing behind her. 

"We're missing a chair again," Rhodey pointed out with a smirk.

"Honey, you were his legal guardian at one point," Pepper laughed lightly, patting his hand mockingly. 

"That means nothing," Tony brushed it off. "Another thing. A lot of gang members, robbers, have been caught by police over the past week, because they check themselves into the hospital. I've been tracking Peter's phone...just to make sure it wasn't him-" Tony didn't miss Pepper shaking her head with a smile. 

"I track my kid's phones just saying," Clint pipes up. 

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Tony frowns. "The point is Peter was at home all of those nights. Which is good because these guys, they weren't just hurt they were beat to a _pulp_. Broken fingers, noses, arms- Peter wouldn't do that- so I'm glad it's not him." Tony didn't know why he said that out loud, to assure the team or himself.

"Probably just rival gangs. I mean, I know it's awful, but those guys defiantly had it coming," Rhodey admitted.

"Rival gangs to lash out from time to time," Vision nodded. "It is a common occurrence."

"And the police never really find out who did it. Some organizations are too powerful for that," Bucky adds. 

"I just don't know what's going on with everything. I'm tired of being in the dark. The kid lost his uncle for God sakes, I will never understand what he's going through," Tony said. 

"He's not a normal teenager Tony," Pepper said, looking around the table. "I think we all forget that sometimes."

"Just talk to the kid," Sam shrugged. 

Tony shot him a look, "I can't. Rocket science, I get. This? Whole new level of confusion."

Natasha suddenly snatched the remote and quieted everyone down. He realized she had been rather silent this whole conversation. She waved her hands and turned up the TV, "Hey, shut up."

_Queens police department would like to inform the public that officers are currently tracking down the killer that has been on the run for the past couple of days. The suspect has been the cause of 5 robberies and one death of 51 year old Ben Parker. If you have any information or if you have seen this man please contact..."_

"I'm glad they're gonna catch him," Bucky murmured. "It's not right he got away."

"Tony can I talk to you please?" Natasha said suddenly. 

Tony gave her a look and nodded, following her past the kitchen, the rest of the team still glued to the screen. "What is it?" he asked. 

"When I was being trained by Russia, one of my partners was killed. The organization let it go by but I was determined to find the killer. And I did. Under a bridge passing in Russia, and I showed him no mercy. Slit his throat. Slowly."

"Nice Nat," Tony made a face, nodding sarcastically.

"But my time before that was full of secrets, and distancing myself, and just pain that I wouldn't let anyone see. I hunted that man down for months Tony. I was obsessed. It changed me. I did things I wasn't proud of."

"Why are you telling me this?" Tony asked in confusion. 

"I think Peter's doing the same thing. You don't find it odd that he hasn't mentioned the guy since that night?"

"He told me it didn't bother him," Tony said firmly. 

Natasha winced. "Tony I don't think that kid has been truthful with you. Or all of us."

"You think he was lying to me? You think he was hurting those people?" Tony demanded, but part of him was slowly acknowledging the fact that she was right. 

"It's what I did," Natasha said sadly. "And with Peter's background with HYDRA, it would make sense if he did the same. It's a wonder he didn't kill them, it shows he still has a bit of control."

Tony cursed, "FRIDAY run traces on Peter's phone tracking, look for system freezes or glitches that your normal program would have looked over," he said, turning to Natasha. "He works with those programs with me every day. He would know which ones to shut down. God, I hate how smart that kid is."

 _"Tracker is confirmed frozen sir,"_ FRIDAY reported. 

Tony cussed again, running a hand through his hair, "So what, he's been going out for the past week almost killing people trying to find the guy that killed his uncle? How did I miss this?"

"We all missed it. Because he wanted us too. Look, it's ok, just go talk to him now," Natasha said, motioning to the hallway Peter had walked down. 

Tony's face went slack and he whispered, "Oh God-" His next thoughts came out in a torrent of words.

"Peter said he had to take care of something. Pepper came in through that same hallway. She didn't see him- she would have said something-" Tony turned on his heel and sprinted through the dining room and turned the corner. Nothing. It was empty. He ran back to the kitchen. "Pepper! Did you see Pete?"

"No," she frowned, "I thought he was- Tony, what's going on?"

Natasha pursed her lips, "Hurry."

Tony cussed louder, wincing as he looked at her, "I gotta go."

Sprinting down the hallway Tony bit his lip, "Dangit kid, come on."

Tony called a suit, double tapping his chest. "FRIDAY! Have that news cast playing on my display. Disable glitches and freezes Peter put in and track his phone. He's gotta be close to that chase. We have to get to him before..." Peter wouldn't actually kill someone...would he?

"Before he does something stupid," Tony said, his voice breaking halfway through as the exit to his left open and he blasted into the sky. 

Peter scaled the wall on the side of the building. The officers ran down the street below him but Peter wasn't focused on them. He was looking at the figure hiding in the old abandoned building, looking at the passing men from the unstable top floor that was run down and broken. Peter waited in the shadows until the man went inside to swing, and he landed on the opposite wall, flipping it and immediately jumping to the ceiling. 

The man was peering out the other window, still focused on the chaos below. 

Peter crawled forward when suddenly the bar he was on creaked. He jumped away just as a bullet whizzed by, the man whipping out his gun. The structure was too old to be silent on, the rafters about to break with every step so he settled on the ceiling in the shadows.

"Who- who's there!" he yelled angrily. The gun was shaking, pointing at every crevice and corner. "Show yourself! You coward!"

Peter dropped to the ground silently behind the man, shooting a web and hitting him square in the back. He yanked him down and jumped to the ceiling again, swinging out of sight. The man fell, hitting the ground hard before he scrambled for his gun, shaking even more. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"You sure?" Peter snarled, dropping down in front of him. The man's eyes widened and Peter slammed him into the wall before grabbing a fistful of his jacket and smashing him into the window, then the second window, each invoking a huge crash and a cry of pain.

He threw the man to the ground who yelled, coughing, his face bleeding as Peter webbed his chest and pulled him up. Peter's eyes were set ahead in red fury and as he walked by he snaked his hand around the man's shoulder, shoving him up against the wall in one fluid motion. Peter punched him across the face and the man spit up blood. 

"Please! Stop! Give me a chance-"

"Did you give my uncle a chance?" Peter yelled, hitting him across the face again. He threw him to the ground in anger, ripping off his mask. 

The man squinted, trying to see his face in the minimal moonlight and through the blood dripping in his eye from the glass. Then he broke into a smile, laughing, "You're that kid from the store. Did I take out your old man? You should have stopped me when you had the chance. Karma's a-"

Peter snapped and furiously kicked him in the face so hard he flew back a couple of feet, "You want to laugh about that?" He hauled the man up, knocking his gun away before twisting his arm in his grasp. "You think it's funny? You killed an innocent man!"

He kneed the guy in the stomach and flipped, kicking him across the head. The man slammed into the ground, groaning, spitting out blood. Peter grabbed his chin, forcing him up and the man had lost all humor now, fearing for his life, as he should. 

"Don't kill me-" he cried, "don't kill me-"

"Buddy, you're gonna wish you were dead," Peter snarled. "You shot a man in the chest. That man was my uncle. You killed him!"

The robber tried to grab the gun and raise it to shoot and Peter grabbed it and twisted, the gun falling to the floor. Peter heard a snap and a scream and realized he had broken the man's arm. He didn't care. This guy killed Ben. Fury filled his chest and Peter was breathing hard, his vision red. He could hear Hersh in his ear, whispering for Peter to kill him. He would kill him. He would. 

Peter kicked him in the chest and as he staggered back he shot two webs, one on either hand, trapping the man against the wall he had gone limp against. Peter closed in, everything tinted red, Hersh in his ear, his eyes set and narrowed, his hands clenched into fists, his breathing harsh. 

"Please- don't- please kid- can you live with yourself- if you kill me-" he said hurriedly, struggling against the strong webs.

Peter's eyes narrowed and he glared, lashing out and gripping the man by his throat, cutting him off. "Yeah, I can live with myself. What's a bit more red on my record? I've already got blood on my hands buddy, I am screwed up. You can't guilt trip me."

The robber kicked and thrashed, gasping for air but Peter wouldn't let him have it. His expression went dark as the man's eyes got wide, his face turning red and blue, his gaze pleading and fearful. Peter was shaking in anger, his hand tightening and his eyes were set, filled with hate. 

"PETER, STOP!"

Peter faltered at the yell and he felt his hand release. He let the man go, turning around. The robber gasped for air, coughing and rasping, heaving big sighs of relief. Tony walked in, the suit receded to his neck. "Kid..." his voice sounded broken. A piece of Tony suit flew off and hit the man behind him directly in the head, knocking him unconscious. 

Peter cursed. He wanted the robber to be alive, but it didn't matter. You could still strangle someone unconscious. "Tony you need to leave," Peter said firmly, his voice cracking. "Now."

"Yea, not gonna happen," Tony shook his head, coming closer hesitantly; he saw the look in Peter's eyes. 

"Stay back Tony, final warning," Peter spoke louder. 

"Whatcha gonna do Pete? Fight me?" Tony asked in a form of amusement. 

"If I have to," Peter snarled. 

Tony laughed, "You web me, we're gonna have a problem. I told you that."

Peter glared, curling his fists, "I'm dealing with something-"

"Peter, I don't think you understand what you're saying," Tony said in disbelief. "Look at yourself! That's a _man_ behind you."

"He killed Ben!" Peter screamed in anger, shaking he was so furious. He clenched his teeth and stabbed a finger behind him yelling, "He shot him Tony. He. Shot. Him."

"I know what he did, but you can't kill him," Tony countered, glaring at the man in the background. 

"Can't kill-" Peter spluttered, tripping on his words in his own fury. "He laughed Tony! I told him what he did and he laughed in my face!" Peter yelled. He was burning hot, sweating, his head splitting. He wanted to scream. Everything was so loud, the yelling in his ears, the ringing, the pounding-

"Peter, listen to me-" Tony started. 

Peter shook his head, pressing his hands to his temples and squeezing his eyes shut before he yelled, "No! I am _done_ listening. I am done. I am done with this. HYDRA taught me some things. Like how to take pain, how to inflict pain, how to not open up or let normal people's compassion or mercy crowd your mission."

"Your mission-" Tony spluttered. "Peter you're not in HYDRA base anymore!"

"Yea?" Peter countered, his eyes flashing. "Well maybe I wish I still was because then Ben wouldn't have died."

"Peter," Tony whispered sadly.

"Tell me he wouldn't still be alive if I hadn't gotten out of that hellhole Tony- you should have left me there- I belonged there- i still do," Peter said, truly believing it. 

Tony's gaze shattered at that and he looked at Peter with so much sympathy as he spoke quietly, "Pete, step away. Come on kid, don't do this." He took a hesitant step forward.

"Don't," Peter hissed. 

Tony shook his head, "HYDRA's getting to you, let me help-"

"Don't give me that crap," Peter laughed. "I don't need help. I've never needed help. He needs to die. He deserves to die- I could have killed him before and I didn't. I had my chance and I missed it," Peter shook his head. "I'm not making that same mistake again."

"You don't kill people Peter!" Tony yelled. 

"Eight," Peter hissed. 

Tony frowned and asked, "What?"

"I killed eight people in that base," Peter confessed.

"Peter-" Tony started with a soft voice. 

"Don't tell me I'm not a killer, don't tell me I have a good heart- I am _messed up_ Tony and I know it. I killed eight people in there, I already have blood on my hands. What I've been doing is the real me, the me they made me to be and I can't help that. I have killed people. I am screwed up and I need to do this- this is what I do! This is what I was made to do. I am a killer and nothing will ever make me more than that-"

"350," Tony said suddenly, cutting Peter off. 

Peter glared but his breathing slowed and he bit the line Tony had thrown him. "What?"

"We're naming how many people we've killed? 350," Tony repeated fiercely. "And that's just humans. If we're counting aliens and robots too I'd probably hit 75,000. But I'm talking about HYDRA, or the Ten Rings, or the people I couldn't save in New York? Sokovia? South Africa? The villains I've fought over the years. 350. That's me Pete."

Tony shook his head, "I've learned to live with it. But the person who killed those 8 men Peter, that _wasn't_ you. You don't need to be what HYDRA made you. Be what I couldn't be, what Cap couldn't be, what Nat, Wanda, Bucky- what the entire team would give the world to be. You have that chance and so help me God kid, you better take it," Tony said angrily.

"He killed Ben," Peter sobbed in fury, hot tears building in his hateful eyes. 

"I know he did and he is an awful person, but Peter," Tony gave him a smile, "you aren't him. Look at yourself! This isn't you!"

"You don't know-" Peter bit his lip. "He's right in front of me Tony," Peter said weakly. "You don't know what that's like-"

"Bucky killed my parents," Tony blurted out with a glare.

"What?"

"Bucky killed them. When he was the Winter Soldier, HYDRA sent him on a mission to kill them and he completed his mission. I saw the footage. He crashed their car and killed them in front of one another. I watched him kill them on the tape and he was standing right next to me. For a minute I couldn't think, everything turned red, and all I cared about was revenge. I almost killed him Peter, I did. So yeah, I know _exactly_ what this feels like and trust me when I say, it's not worth it. He is not worth your effort, and he is not worth you Peter. You can't lose yourself over this Pete. Don't lose yourself."

Peter turned to look at the man who's head was slumped to his chest. _"Kill him Peter. Kill them all."_ Peter flinched and shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. 

"I know Hersh is in your head kid," Tony said quickly. "I know what it's like to have demons you can't get rid of, I know what it's like to fear yourself. But this is not you Peter. You gotta snap out of it."

"I can't-" Peter shakes his head. 

"This isn't you kid. You gotta believe me. Believe in that. You made that stone and you build on it, you understand me? Look at me Peter," Tony urges. 

Peter looks up and sees Tony's a couple feet away and he's startled by how fast the man closed the distance without him noticing. He gets out of the suit, and it stands behind him, pulling away from his body as Tony steps down onto the ground and continues forward. In fear of hurting him, screwing something else up, Peter takes a hesitant step back, "No- Tony- stop-"

"I told you I wasn't afraid of you," Tony reminds. "Never will be. And if you think I'll let you kick my butt? Sorry kid, but I'm sadly not gonna let you," Tony cracked a smile, reaching for his arm. 

"Get away from me-" Peter hissed but it was desperate. 

"Peter, stop," Tony said firmly. 

"I-" Peter looked up at him in fear, shaking his head. "You- he's in my head Tony- I can't-" he winced as Hersh's screaming got louder. Peter curled his fists and Tony's gaze flicked down to him in worry, immediately countering Hersh's demands. 

"I know he's loud kid, but I'm louder. Focus on me. You got out of that place Peter, don't forget that. We got you out and you're never going back. I won't let that happen. I know they did stuff to do, I know you can't forget it, but the kid I pulled out of there, the kid I watched Star Wars with, the kid that spent hours in the lab with, the genius that even corrected my math, that's you."

Something clicked. Peter steadied his breathing. He remembered Ben hugging him the first time he met, May cupping his cheeks. Ned grinning in the hallway with him and MJ giving him the middle finger. Tony waking him up and calming him down, throwing a pillow at him and blasting through the door as Peter stood amidst the guards he had taken out with his hands cuffed. 

Tony reached out and grabbed Peter's wrist that was shaking and Peter instinctively curled his other one, about to swing but Tony barked, "Don't you even dare." He looked Peter in the eyes. "I know you kid. And I know you're in there. So snap out of it. Where are you? Look at me."

Peter let his fist fall to his side and looked up at Tony who still had his wrist grasped firmly. He frowned in confusion, blinking, "He- he killed Ben Tony."

Tony's gaze softened, "I know he did kid. I know."

Peter blinked again, flinching as he squeezed his eyes shut. He concentrated, the screaming fading and he winced, his whole body trembling, "I'm sorry- Tony-"

Tony, visibly relieved, nodded, "I know." Peter's arm relaxed and Tony moved to look him in the eyes, "You back with me Peter?"

"Yea I- I think so-"

**_BANG_ **

Suddenly Peter's hairs stood up on end and he tensed, slamming into Tony as hard as he could. A shot whizzed above his head, barely missing Tony's neck. Peter spun and shot a web, hitting the robber in the chest. The man had a knife in his hand; he had cut through the webs, and the gun was in his other. He had gotten it off the floor and taken a shot while he had the chance. 

The web hit him dead on and the man stumbled, tripping over a broken floorboard. 

Peter saw where he was heading and his eyes widened. 

"NO!" Peter yelled, lunging forward.

The man fired again as he fell and Peter felt the bullet sink into his shoulder. Pain flared in his arm and he stumbled, his body jolting from the impact.

"PETER!" That was Tony, from behind him on the ground.

Peter didn't listen and he threw himself forward, reaching out his hand. He just missed the man's coat as he collapsed to the floor. The man, with utter fear in his eyes, his gaze on Peter, toppled out of the open window and fell backward with a strangled scream. 

Peter scrambled to his feet and slammed into the side of the building. He shot a web and it hit the robber in the chest. Peter yanked with all of his might, and the man's fall stopped short, but there was an unmistakable sound as he hit the ground before Peter could save him.

_CRACK_

Peter cried out and looked over the edge in horror, still holding the web that had the robber hanging a mere half foot from the ground. He forced himself to look, his mouth open in a silent scream. The man was hanging limp, his arms splayed, dead on the end of the web, blood staining the alleyway where he had hit before Peter had yanked him up.

In sheer horror and shock Peter uncurled his shaking hands and slowly let go, lowering the robber the final inches to the ground. He pried his hands away from the web that dissolved. 

"No," he whimpered quietly. Peter gulped, nearly collapsing by the window, staring over the edge in shock, his heart beating abnormally fast-even for him. He couldn't breathe. His chest closed and there was a lump in his throat. He felt like he was gonna throw up. Peter's entire body was trembling. For once even his thoughts were silent. A chill ran down his spine.

"No-" he said, his wide, terrified eyes returned to their normal brown. A tear slipped down his cheeks and he shook his head, "This wasn't supposed to happen-"

He turned around to look at Tony in horror who had gotten up off the ground in shock. He didn't look mad, he looked terrified, but not with Peter. 

Peter blinked, shaking his head, "Tony, that- that wasn't supposed to happen- I didn't mean to-" he cried, choking on a sob. Peter turned to look back out the window just in case, but the man was dead. His hands shook, cut with glass, his shoulder bloody. "I- no..."

"Pete," Tony said gently, limping up behind him, slightly winded from Peter's harsh push that saved either one of their lives. Emotions were plastered all over his sympathetic gaze, his shock and horror matching Peter's.

"I tried to- Tony, I tried-" Peter's eyes were filled with tears. "I-"

Tony put a shaking hand on his shoulder, "Pete," he whispered gently. "That wasn't your f-"

Peter turned into his chest, squeezing his eyes shut and Tony wrapped his arms around him in shock, stumbling back from the force of the hug. Hot tears built up in Peter's eyes and he was shaking as Tony held him silently, resting a hand on his head in Peter's curls. 

Tony's head raised to glance out the window, his breath hitching in his throat as he held the teenager who was shaking, his eyes squeezed shut. Tears still escaped. Both of them stood with weak knees and spinning heads, in total shock. Neither spoke.

But all Peter could think was one singular word. 

_Nine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DONT KILL ME :) :) :) i love all of you. Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked it!!! if yall didn't catch it- that mimicked both the robbers death scene from the OG spiderman and gwen's death from amazing spiderman. cool touch lol also introduced some more hoco scenes, hope you liked those :) and we got a glimpse of Peter completely losing his mind XD so I hope that was fun! AND WE GOT A HUG- BUT BUT BUT!!!!! i don't really count that one or the joke one so another one wil come soon  
> Next chapter is a recovery chapter, and it will be more happy I PROMISE- Peter will finally get a break. ALSO!!! PLEASE NOTE- so...this fic could end after 2- 3 more chapters OR if you guys want, I have a great idea of how to continue it for about another 5 or more depending on new ideas etc :) So let me know if you want to see more!!!!  
> Thank you all for your support and for reading- your support and comments means the absolute world and you all rock <3 So thank you so so so much! And stay tuned! New chapter coming soon and you can rest easy because no one is getting shot or dying or anything- at least I don't plan on it :) Please leave a comment on what you thought, they always make my day and I love hearing from you guys!  
> I love you all 3000 <3 seriously :)


	16. Prove Me Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers!!!! It has been again way too long since I posted so I am so sorry. Life completely took over- I have had no freetime and have gotten like 3 hours of sleep so we love that. But I did have a lot of fun writing this chapter and for the most part- Peter gets a break!!! I know i promised a hug this chapter....I lied. But you will get that next chapter. It was supposed to be this chapter, and I already have it written, but I made the executive decision to wait because I couldn't rush it :)  
> So I really hope you like this chapter, the support for this story has been absolutely amazing and I am so grateful for all of you so thank you so so so much from the bottom of my heart. I hope you enjoy <3

Peter was shaking against his chest. Tony stared blankly over the kid's head, his hand resting in his hair. He couldn't speak, his mouth dry. There was a lump in his throat and a knot in his stomach as he held the boy. 

Tony took a shaky breath, "Peter-"

Peter shook his head violently against his chest and Tony bit his tongue and squeezed his eyes shut. 

_"I know you kid," he urged, shaking his head firmly, pleading with the teen, begging him. "And I know you're in there. So snap out of it. Where are you? Look at me."_ _Tony searched the boy's troubled gaze._ _Come back to me Peter, come on._

_The kid frowned in confusion, blinking as he stuttered, "He- he killed Ben Tony." Almost as if he was reminding himself..._

_Tony nodded sadly with assurance, hating how broken Peter's voice was, "I know he did kid. I know."_

_Peter blinked again, flinching as he squeezed his eyes shut. He concentrated and winced, his entire body shuddering before he shook his head and looked up at Tony with a look of horror, confusion, and guilt. His eyes were normal. Tony recognized them. The kid opened his mouth and struggled to speak, finally sobbing, "I'm sorry- Tony-"_

_There's my boy. Tony took a deep breath, his heart unclenching as he nodded firmly, "I know. You back with me Peter?" Tony never wanted to see that look on the kid's face ever again._

_"Yea I- I think so-" then the kid froze, his eyes narrowing, and Tony didn't have time to register what was happening before Peter slammed into him hard in the chest._

_**BANG** _

_Tony fell, hitting the ground roughly on his back, his head smacking against the wood floor. Something had whizzed past him as Peter had pushed him, so close he had felt it skim his hair. For a second Tony realized he should probably panic, because maybe he should consider the possibility that Peter was sticking to his promise to fight him. But for some reason that Tony couldn't explain, he knew that wasn't the case._

_Groaning and sitting up, clutching his head, he blinked and saw the robber holding a gun in one hand, a knife limply clasped in a seemingly broken arm. A web hit him hard in the chest and Tony saw him stumble, his foot catching a floorboard._

_The man's eyes widened in fear as he tripped and fell backward, his arms flailing._

_"NO!" Peter yelled, lunging forward._

_Tony's eyes saw the man's let pointer finger and watched helplessly as he pulled the trigger again. Tony's scream was caught in his throat as he reached forward even though the kid was too far away. He watched helplessly as the bullet sunk right into Peter's shoulder, and the boy jerked to the side from the hit stumbling and crying out in pain._

_"PETER!" Tony screamed, scrambling up as the kid still threw himself forward._

_The robber flipped over the side, falling out the shattered window. Peter's ribcage hit the side of the building as he reached over with so much force he swore he heard a crack._

_He saw the kid shoot a web and yank it, but Tony flinched at the loud impact sound that came milliseconds before it. Then there was utter silence...Peter still holding the web, half- hanging out of the building with a horrified look on his face, frozen in shock. The boy let out a choked scream, visibly shaking as he stared at the ground below. Peter slowly pried his hands off the web, staggering back a couple inches, breathing hard._

_"No," he whimpered quietly, his knees giving out slightly as he stared. "No-" he repeated in devistation, and then a tear slipped down his cheeks as he shook his head and said louder, "This wasn't supposed to happen-"_

_He turned around to look at Tony in absolute shock and blinked, shaking his head, "Tony, that- that wasn't supposed to happen- I didn't mean to-" he cried, choking on a sob. Peter turned around again to look back out the window. "I- no..."_

_"Pete," Tony said, his voice cracking. It was too quiet._

And now the kid was muttering the same thing, "I tried Tony- I didn't mean to-"

"I know kid," Tony assured him. "It wasn't your fault."

"He-" Peter pulled away and pointed weakly, fisting Tony's shirt, his eyes wide. And then he doesn't speak for a bit, his mouth trying and failing to form words. Peter just looks at him, shaking and blinking. The kid glances down at his hands, then at the window, starting to back away from Tony, his hair falling in front of his wide eyes. He felt responsible. He was scared of himself. The kid was broken. "I just- I didn't get there fast enough- but- this- oh God Tony, this is all my fault-"

"Peter, stop," Tony said quickly. He hated how ruined the teen was at the moment. Tony saw a look he hadn't seen in a very long time. After everything they had been through, to get him to where he had been...watching it crumble in front of him was painful, and it hurt Tony's core. 

Peter wouldn't listen to him, "No- you don't- this-"

"Peter, look at me. Look at me!" Tony grabbed the kid by the shoulders and spoke firmly, getting the kid's attention. "You pushed me out of the way. You saved my life Pete. You knew exactly where that bullet was going and you pushed me out of the way. And you know what? I would have done the same. I know you know that," he said harshly, glaring pointedly at Peter with no anger.

"You would have done the same," Peter repeated slowly. It wasn't a question, it was a lifeline. Peter was holding onto that sentence with all he was worth.

"Darn right," Tony nodded. "Someone goes at you, I'd blast them without even thinking."

Peter started to nod and then his expression shattered. He pressed both hands to his temple, shaking his head and crying out "But- if I hadn't lost it- if I hadn't webbed him up-I hurt him- I hurt people- I almost hurt you! It's my _fault-my fault-"_

"I don't really care about who's fault it was!" Tony yelled, shutting Peter up. He set his hands down on Peter's shoulders firmly and locked eyes with him. "Argue about this with me later kid. You want to believe me or not, that's up to you, but right now, I'm just glad you're alive, ok? You're safe, and that's all that matters. I almost lost you, you do get that right?"

Peter looked at him in shock, and Tony was relieved to watch the kid's shoulders relax as he realized someone cared about him.

"What would I have done? Huh? You don't get that!" Tony shouted without even thinking.

Peter blinked at Tony's outburst and stared dumbly at him before looking down. Tony moved his hand to clasp the back of Peter's neck, locking eyes with him. Peter nodded, answering the 30 so questions Tony threw at him in a millisecond. Satisfied, he let the hand drop and without meaning to, it gently brushed Peter's bad shoulder. Wincing, Peter grit his teeth, putting a shaky hand to his arm that spazed suddenly. 

Tony's eyes flicked to the bullet wound and he cursed. It looked pretty bad and he realized the kid had been hiding the pain all this time. It was worse than he thought. The shock had helped a bit, but that and the adrenaline were wearing off meaning the calmer Peter was, the more it would hurt. He told him urgently, "We've got to get you back to the lab." Then he realized something, "You can't swing, can you?"

"Yes I can," Peter protested firmly. 

Tony scoffed, raising an eyebrow as the suit wrapped around his body again. He shook his head, "No. You can't."

Peter glared and took a step back pointing at Tony with his good hand, "You pick me up bridal style and I will make us crash I swear to God."

"Fine, then how do you want me to do it? It's not like I can grab your arm," Tony slurred in annoyance. 

Peter grit his teeth and repeated, "I'll swing."

"Yeah right. Swing with your bad hand to the other side of the wall and maybe I'll consider it," Tony pointed to a spot about 80 feet away on the other side of the abandoned building. 

Peter stubbornly stepped up, took a running start and lept clumsily into the air, shooting a web with his bad arm. The jolt alone made him cry out and in rage Peter let go, hitting the ground tumbling. He rolled to a stop, pain flaring in his arm and chest. Peter groaned and started to get to his feet, clutching his bad arm, but before he even could Tony was there slipping an arm under his legs and around his back, lifting him up.

"Idiot. Why'd you even try it?" Tony muttered. 

Peter gritted his teeth, "I'm fine."

"I asked why you tried it," Tony corrected. 

"And I said I'm fine," Peter repeated with equal amounts of sarcasm. 

"Clearly," Tony said, making sure Peter was safe in his arms before flying out of the ceiling hole he burst through a couple minutes ago. "Hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. FRIDAY have a team block off this area. Take care of it for me, will ya?"

_"Sure thing boss. Back entrance is prepped for arival."_

Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he shot for the compound. Meanwhile, Peter was not happy at all. He grumbled, "I'm not 5 you know. You wouldn't do this to Rhodey," Peter grumbled. 

Tony looked down, "Is that a challenge?"

Peter let out a small laugh before warning him, "This part never happened. No one hears about it, understand?"

"Ok Mr. Grumpy Pants," Tony mocked. 

The wind whistled by them as Tony shot across the sky, Peter subconsciously curled towards him. There was silence for a little bit before Peter confessed, "I should have told you."

"We'll talk about that later," Tony said firmly. Peter couldn't resist a cocky smile. Tony saw him and started to grin as well but luckily the helmet was down so Peter didn't know that. "God I sound like my dad."

"I'm just saying," Peter insisted, sobering his tone. "I should have told you a lot of stuff but I didn't. I'm not making excuses, I'm just sorry."

Tony looked down at the kid who was watching the buildings blur by with dried tear stains on his cheeks, his bangs blowing in the harsh wind, his hand clenched over a bleeding shoulder, his eyes filled with pain and regret, anger in his stare. 

"Don't get all sappy on me," Tony brushed him off. 

"Hey, I offered you an apology-" Peter grumbled. 

"I will drop you," Tony threatened jokingly. 

"Yeah, whatever," Peter snorted. 

"Almost home. Your arm ok?" Tony checked up on him. 

"I've had worse," Peter grinned sleepily, wincing in concentration. 

"What do you have against answering questions?" Tony shook his head, relieved as the compound came into view. 

"Personal vendetta," Peter murmured, his head sinking to Tony's chest with a sudden muffled cry of pain. Tony's heart stopped and his gaze snapped downward in panic.

"You still with me kid?' Tony called out, making sure. 

"Yeah," Peter croaked back.

Tony looked down at him again in worry. The last thing he needed was Peter to pass out right here, or bleed out in his arms. The kid had cheated death more times than he could count this week. "Scale from 1-10, how bad?"

"Normal scale or my scale?" Peter asked weakly, looking up at Tony with a forced goofy grin. 

Tony frowned, "Whichever one will make me less mad. What's it on your scale?"

"About five," Peter admitted. 

Tony dove downward and Peter gripped his arm tightly, lowering his head into Tony's chest, clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. "Sorry," Tony apologized for the harsh landing that jostled his shoulder.

Peter sucked in a breath and nodded, "Sokay'."

"We gotta get you in before your skin closes over that bullet," he touched down and the suit pulled away, leaving Peter in Tony's arms. "If I help you, can you walk?" he asked firmly. 

"Yea," Peter said with a tight expression. Tony slowly set him down and Peter looped his good arm over his shoulders. Tony wrapped his arm around his back and put his other across Peter's chest as they staggered to the door and began the limp down the hallway.

Tony kicked open the lab door and Peter waved him off, "I got it." Tony gently let him go and ran over to get supplies for stitches as Peter staggered the rest of the way forward and lowered himself onto a bench. Tony quickly came over and took out scissors, cutting the vest away from the wound.

Peter groaned, "HEY! I made that, jerk."

"I'll buy you another one at Walmart," Tony teased. 

"Oh like where you get your shirts?" Peter shot back with a look of annoyance. 

"I have the scalpel," Tony waved it around threateningly.

"You know maybe bleeding out is the way to go," Peter grumbled. 

"Hey, I trust you with scissors. The least you can do is trust me with this thing," Tony almost dropped it while trying to twirl it on his finger. Tony grinned before he set it down to examine Peter's shoulder. "All right, listen, we got to get that bullet out of there, no matter how deep it is-" After a second, he cursed; Peter was already healing over the wound, closing around the bullet that was deep in his shoulder. He hesitantly looked up at the kid who's expression slackened.

"Healing factor, isn't it?"

Tony stuttered, "Yeah- look I can-what the heck is this?" he demands, ripping more of Peter's sweatshirt to reveal another wound that's slowly healing but still visible on the same arm. 

"Paper cut," Peter says weakly. 

"Parker," Tony warns. 

"Got skimmed. It didn't hit me!" he protests, looking over at the closing wound and dismissing it. 

"Oh my God, Albert frickin Einstein," Tony slurs angrily before demanding, "When?"

"I think yesterday, I don't remember-" Peter shakes his head. 

"And you think this is ok? You didn't tell me!" Tony exclaims, looking over the cut again. 

Peter looks at him like he just grew a third head. The kid splutters with genuine confusion, "Because it's fine! I'm not dying!"

"Well good for you Peter, but the next time you get shot, I'd like to know," Tony counters furiously. "Got it?"

Peter frowns and starts, "There were a lot of things I should have told you but didn't-"

"Got it?" Tony repeats more fiercely. 

Peter scowls and mutters, "Got it." 

"Good," Tony says firmly, before he looks at his shoulder again. "Pete, I gotta get this bullet out. And it's not gonna be easy. I can maybe try...I just don't want to-"

"Just do it Tony," he said quietly, picking up the scalpel Tony had set down. Tony slowly took it from Peter's steady fingers and the kid nodded, curling his hand into a fist and looking away. "It's you. It's ok."

"Pete...you sure you want me to do it without any-"

"Tony the longer we debate the deeper it goes," Peter said quickly. "Now trust me, I've had worse. I can handle it. I went through this every day," he said furiously, but his eyes were pleading. "Please."

Tony was at a loss for words but he nodded and placed a firm hand on Peter's upper shoulder which was tense. He bit his lip and sighed, "All right, all right." He readied the scalpel and warned Peter, "This is gonna hurt like a-"

"I know," Peter nodded in resignation as he gripped the table. 

Tony enters the wound, seeing Peter's arm tense as the kid presses his lips together and squeezes his eyes shut. Tony hates himself as he literally has to cut open Peter's arm since it was already healing, reopening the wound to try and get leverage on the small, silver piece of metal that's buried in his shoulder. 

"Okay, okay. Almost got it. Hang in there kid," Tony urges and Peter nods violently, turning away and arching his back. Tony makes a deeper incision and then closes his eyes, since he was always better with his hands. After a bit of digging causing muffled protests from Peter, he finally feels the tip. 

Peter slams his hand down on the table and exhales a sharp breath, making a small, muffled noise of protest from behind his clenched jaw. 

"Come on, come on, this little piece of- " Tony hisses to himself, before he opens his eyes in relief, feeling the bullet loosen. "Right there, there we go, there we go kid." He quickly digs it out, watching Peter's white knuckles tense for the last time as the kid straightens his back and exhales.

Tony holds it up, "Would ya look at that? Hey! Happy New Year. Little memento from the adventures of Peter Parker." He tosses the bloody bullet it to Peter who catches it with his other hand. He glares at it, breathing hard and flicks it into the metal tray with a painful grunt. 

"About time," Peter shoots him a look that says _thank you._

"Hey, you're the one who's freaking Wolverine," Tony scoffs back, shooting him a small smile which Peter weakly returns. He walks over and helps Peter bandage it up, "How we doing? You good?"

"Yeah," Peter nods with a small wince.

"Keep pressure on it," Tony instructs. "Any other life threatening injuries I should know about?" he asks sourly. 

Peter nods, "Yeah I think my foot is shattered? Also a spinal cord is broken and my thyroid, I probably need to get it removed." At this point Tony has realized the kid is messing with him but then Peter starts to grin and continues, "Also what happens when you can't move your right arm really well? It's all tingly-"

"If you weren't injured I would punch you," Tony scoffs. "And if you ever do have a heart attack? Just FYI, I will be laughing and not helping you, because you are officially now the boy who cried wolf."

Peter makes a face, "What's that?"

Tony realizes the kid was robbed of his childhood and he looks down before smiling sadly and waving his hand, "Nothing."

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you," Peter said suddenly, sobering the room. Tony looks back at him and the kid shrugs, "We had to talk about it sometime. I don't want to brush off this one. I screwed up. I know I did. Again."

Tony nodded, leaning against the table, "Yeah, I know. You screwed the pooch hard. Big time. But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies... All right, not my best analogy. Point is Peter...you did what you had to do to save my life. And everything before that?" Tony shakes his head and crosses his arms, leaning back against the lab table

"It wasn't you. I know what it feels like, and in your situation, I would have done the same thing- heck, I did the same thing. I know you're not proud of it, I know you're shocked, I know you're pissed at yourself and that's what proves me right. You're a good kid Peter, with a good head on your shoulders. You want to do the right thing, but sometimes you don't know how, and that's not your fault, it's HYDRAS."

"I let you down though," Peter said weakly. 

"You've never let me down kid," Tony laughs. 

Peter scoffed and shook his head, "You believed in me, said I could help people. You trusted me. And then-"

"Yeah, I believed in you. I trusted you. Still do. Always will. Because I know the kid in there, the one who quotes Star Wars and draws a spider on a vest with black sharpie- that kid would never hurt anyone. Not anyone good at least." Tony raises an eyebrow to check if the words are soaking in, urging, "You've got a heart Peter. And technically....now, I'm not condoning the beating the crap out of criminals, but the only guys you hurt were the bad guys, so...silver lining there. Not condoning it though," he restates.

Peter smiled weakly. "I almost-" he rubs his neck and shakes his head again, "In HYDRA, you can't get distracted from your mission. I wasn't distracted. I was going to kill him, I can say that for absolute certainty. And then you came in and it was like I had split personalities."

The kid rubs his eyes with his fist and shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. "I'm tired of seeing red Tony, I am. I don't want to see it anymore because whenever I do, I'm back there and I don't ever want to be back there because it reminds me of who I am- or was. It's the worst feeling in the world and last night...last night I liked that feeling. I broke a man's arm and there was a sick grin on my face. I-I watched as a hurt him and it didn't phase me- Tony I didn't even blink."

Tony looked at him sadly. Peter's hands were clasped in front of him, shaking. The teen shrugged, "And I knew it was wrong. Deep down I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't stop. Every night I went out, again and again, so focused on catching the guy, not focusing on the fact that I didn't know who I was anymore." Then Peter laughed and it was filled with pain. "I even thought once- wished I was back at the base, can you believe that? I thought I was weak. I actually found one good reason to wish I was back in there, not because of Ben, or any of that, but simply because I missed the power."

"That look you had in your eyes- and I'm not trying to remind you," he says quickly, shaking his head, "I'm trying to show you. You overcame that. Yeah, it was scary to almost lose you to that, but you didn't. Maybe you had a few doubts along the way, but point is Peter, you didn't get to that point."

"But that man...who killed Ben," Peter shook his head. "He didn't have to die. I could have-"

"If you forgot for some reason, he did shoot you," Tony said angrily. 

"I know but-" Peter was still grasping at any chance things could have gone differently, seemingly desperate to take the blame as if it would give him closure.

"Not everything is going to have a happy ending. Sometimes you can't save everyone kid," Tony said sadly.

"I wish I could," Peter spoke quietly, staring at the ground.

"I know," Tony agrees firmly. He looks down, "I wish I could save everyone that died in Sokovia, I do, every day. Just like you wish you could have changed things this past week. But kid, if there is anything you remember, let it be the fact that even the heros make mistakes once in a while. It's what makes us human."

Peter looked up at him, a small proud smile on his face, his eyes gleaming, "Heros?"

"Got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Tony grinned. "Although most heros don't typically wear swimming goggles, but I can fix that."

"Shut up," Peter laughed before he looks at Tony earnestly and speaks quietly, "Thanks for coming."

"Always will," Tony nods. 

Peter nodded in happiness and then a thought came into his mind and he frowned. Looking up, he asked nervously, "Does the team know?"

"Nat does. She sort of figured it out," Tony admitted, scratching his head. "Apparently she went on a killing spree herself in Russia. Maybe it's a phase." Peter glared, prompting Tony to quickly continue. "I'm going to tell the team the truth if they ask Peter."

The kid's head shot up and Tony chose his words carefully, looking Peter in the eyes. "You didn't kill him, and you saved my life. You tried to save _his_ life. Because that's exactly what happened," Tony said firmly. "That man's death was not your fault. You even tried to save him. Do you realize how strong that makes you? Yeah, you can flip a bus without breaking a sweat but this outranks that in my book. You are _not_ who HYDRA made you Pete," Tony locks eyes with Peter, "You proved that tonight. I'm proud of you kid." 

"Thanks Tony," Peter said sincerely.

"Ok, you want tylenol or something?" Tony asked.

"Nah," Peter shook his head. 

"Ok don't go all Braveheart on me. You are human you know," Tony rolled his eyes. 

Peter grins and smirks, "Is that another movie I need to see?"

"Kid, there are a million movies you need to see," Tony laughed. "Now come on, I gotta show you something," Tony waves him out of the lab. 

"Right now?" Peter asked in confusion. 

"Right now," Tony nodded, waving him forward, "Come on. Lab."

"Ok, ok," Peter hopped off the table and followed him. They walked down the hall and down the steps to the lab, Tony staying silent and not answering any of Peter's urgent questions. 

"Why can you not tell me though?" Peter sighed. 

"I swear to God kid, if you don't shut up, you're not getting it," Tony laughed. 

"Do me a favor FRIDAY, open 17A," Tony grinned. 

_"Might i add the fact that this is long overdue?"_

"Yeah," Tony admitted as the wall shifted, "It is. I've been working on this for a almost half a month now. So you better like it." The red and blue suit spun into view, showcased in glass surrounding a platform.

Peter's jaw dropped and he walked forward slowly, hand cover his shoulder as he walked up to the glass and stared at it intently. "Oh my God...I-" he chuckles, amazed.

Tony stepped backward with a huge smile on his face, "Yeah, give that a look."

Peter was at a loss for words and suddenly the glass spun, opening the platform. Peter gingerly touched the suit like it was going to break in his hands and he looked back at Tony, asking for permission. "Can I-"

"Go for it kid," Tony laughed, leaning against the nearest lab table which had day old coffee on it. Tony picked it up, look a sip and then kept it in his hand, fist bumping DUM-E as he watched Peter turn into a 5 year old. 

Peter took it off the platform and stepped back down, holding it carefully in his arms. He gazed over it, fascinated with every curve and stitch and he looked up with a gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face. "Holy- oh my God Tony. just...woah," he said breathlessly.

"Just a minor upgrade. You needed one," Tony said modestly. 

" _Minor_ upgrade?" Peter spluttered, still gasping. "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen! Oh my God Tony, this is awesome."

"Good, it's yours so I would hope so," Tony grinned.

Peter spun to look at him, "I get to keep it?"

"Well I don't fit into it," Tony laughed. 

"Oh my God," Peter muttered again, looking at the mask, "This is the coolest thing- look! This is...insane- look- look at the eyes," he said in complete awe, gently putting the mask on over his face. "It smells like a new car in here!"

Tony laughed. 

Suddenly he saw the eyes flash blue and knew the installed A.I. had turned on. Peter staggered, spinning around, "Who's there? Someone just talked- TONY something just-" 

Tony grabbed his arms and Peter jumped. He explained with a slight chuckle, "She's your FRIDAY."

Peter scrambled to take off the mask, his eyes wide as he looked at Tony in disbelief, "I have my own A.I.?" 

"Uh, yeah," Tony said, a smile starting to appear on his face. 

Peter blinked, "Oh my God. I- I don't know what to say-"

"You like it?" Tony asked nervously. 

Peter looked up and smiled in contentment, holding the suit in his hands. He announced, "Thank you Tony. This is- I- I love it."

"Good," Tony nodded. 

"So do I have to name my A.I. Monday?" Peter asked. 

"I can take the suit back," Tony threatened, but he wouldn't have, mostly because earlier he had been worried he would never see the smile the kid had on ever again. He wasn't about to cut that short. 

**2 Days Later**

Peter's arm was healing, but he had stayed home from school the day before because he still looked beaten up and he didn't want to have to explain why his arm was in a sling. Then it was the weekend so he didn't have to worry much about it. May had come over and she and Peter had gone out for Thai before she left for her conference. She'd be back Monday so Peter was staying at the compound tomorrow too.

Peter grinned, Ned and MJ both face timing him, "So you're staying at the Avengers compound?"

"Yeah," Peter nodded, leaning back in his chair by his bed. "This whole internship is pretty awesome."

"What do you do?" Ned asked excitedly.

Peter shrugged. "I help in the lab, do a bit of computer work or spreadsheets, and then I'm just there for what Tony needs," he lied.

"First name basis, huh?" MJ slurred.

Peter gave her a wink, "My natural charm I guess."

She scoffed, smirking, "Whatever."

"Hey, Peter, so I've got the chem homework due Tuesday. I told Mr. Rollins you were sick, by the way he told me to tell you get better. But I'm warning you, this worksheet is impossible. The back page is literal hell. I don't get it at all, and neither does MJ."

"I can call you guys tomorrow, or we'll just do it Monday. I'll look at it tonight. Can you send me a picture of it?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," Ned nodded. "Just did."

Peter's gaze flicked up and there were two text messages. "Thanks-" Then a third text message came in and Peter froze, stopping his spinning in his chair. He grabbed the edge of his bed and raised himself to his feet. His shock was evident because both friends asked, "Peter, you ok?"

"I-uh- have to go. I just got challenged to an arm wrestle," he said weakly.

"With who?" MJ frowned.

Peter's voice was slightly higher and he gulped, "Captain America."

Ned whooped with laughter, "You are so screwed!"

"Thanks for the confidence," Peter made a face, getting up out of his seat.

"Bye loser. Tell me how many seconds you can go. A millisecond is my guess. Ned, what do you think?" MJ said, laughing.

"Yeah, sounds about right," Ned nodded in agreement.

"Hate both of you," Peter shook his head, laughing before he hung up on their giggling. He shoved the phone in his pocket and walked down the hallway. Tony suddenly came out of the side hallway and he put his arm around Peter, avoiding his bad shoulder. 

"You ready kid?" 

Peter laughed, "Are you hyping me up?"

"You can take him," Tony assured him. "Just break his arm and don't let yours hit the table."

Peter nodded sarcastically. "Thanks, I was wondering how arm wrestles worked. You know what, I think I'm inspired."

"Shut up," Tony smirked, and they entered the kitchen. 

"There's the contender," Clint whooped. Wanda rolled her eyes, sitting at a bar stool with Vision. 

"Peter's vitals are exceptionally calmer than Steve," the android pointed out. 

"You nervous?" Nat asked Cap who shook his head. 

He retorted, "Peter can hide it better."

"Let's go with that," Peter said, settling down in the seat. 

"Round two,” Steve said, pulling up his sleeve and putting his arm down on the table.

Peter grinned and flexed his good arm, “I gotta do it left handed.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Steve said cockily, switching arms, remembering the teen's injury that had happened a couple days ago.

“Alright Rodgers,” Sam laughed.

“20 bucks on Cap,” Clint announces, kicking his feet up on the table and tossing a bill forward.

“Nu uh- we’re not betting on this-“ Pepper laughed, taking a sip from her coffee cup.

“100,000 on the kid,” Tony shrugged, going for his wallet before looking around. “Oh, is that too much?”

“Screw you Tony,” Clint laughed, taking back his 20. Tony grinned and clapped Peter on his good shoulder.

Peter and Steve clasped hands and Wanda let out a laugh as everyone got on the edge of their seats. "I can't believe you're actually doing this."

“Ready?” Peter asked fiercely, and Tony would not want to be facing him right now.

“Born ready,” Cap said with a cocky smile.

“You sure the word didn’t mean something else in 1456?” Peter asked innocently.

“Keep talking kid,” Steve grinned.

Peter smirked, “Oh I will.”

"You better savor that cocky smile, Cap, when your arm is down on the table," Tony spoke up, grinning at Peter who looked over his shoulder and smiled.

“3, 2, 1- GO!” Rhodey said, smacking the table.

Neither hand moved and for a second Tony thought they hadn’t started but turns out they had. Pushing from either side, the two were caught in a stalemate in the center of the table, both arms at a firm right angle.

“How you doing Steve?” Peter asked, his voice slightly strained. Tony saw the determination and confidence in his eyes, laced with a calm exterior.

“Great,” Steve said back, looking the kid in the eyes. Their gazes locked and Peter raised an eyebrow. Pepper's gaze flicked to Natasha and Wanda who both snickered; they recognized the resemblance.

“This isn’t a staring contest,” Peter assured Steve, “you need a review?”

Cap laughed in a strained voice, “Shut up.”

“You seem a bit red?" Peter noticed, asking mockingly, "You sure you’re ok?”

Steve didn't answer. Their hands were clasped hard, fingers tight, wrists locked. Peter's other hand was on the table, clenched into a fist with white knuckles. He set his jaw and straightened his back, taking a deep breath through his nose. The clasped hands wavered slightly, swaying a bit in Peters favor. The kid didn’t seem energized by that, he simply cocked his head, staring intently at Steve who had been focusing on his arm.

“You put your guard down Steve,” Peter noticed, and it appeared that he pushed a little harder, Cap noticing. Tony realized what the kid was doing. Talking was a distraction, and Peter was good at it. The kid was barely shaking, his hand firm, his arm tense and his expression calm. By talking he was catching Steve off his game, diverting his attention, but still Tony knew something else was going on as well. 9 years at HYDRA, Tony knew that kid had some tricks up his sleeve.

“I’m not trying yet, you want me to try?” Rogers grinned, gripping Peter's hand tighter and the kid winced slightly.

“Oh good, me neither,” Peter smiled but it wavered.

Cap pressed and Peter winced, his arm wavering as it slowly started to bend. Steve grinned and Peter let out a tense laugh, his eyes flicking to his hand nervously, his arm beginning to tremble slightly.

“Ok, maybe you were stronger than I-“ his arm bent a little more and Peter faltered, his arm shaking as he grit his teeth, holding back a groan. The teen winced and mumbled under his breath. Sweat beaded on Peter's forehead.

“You want to quit kid?” Cap said, about to secure his win, fueled by his newfound advantage. The man's gaze was cocky and non caring, with no worry whatsoever. "Look, I'll give you a pass. This isn't your strong arm, you've had a long week."

"Yeah," Peter said weakly, still fighting against the arm that was slowly pushing his down. Cap still pressed, determined to win at full strength.

Then Tony grinned and let out a small laugh. Peter turned his gaze with effort and met Tony's eyes. Tony smirked and Peter's expression faltered before he winked at him and then turned to look at Cap again, breathing hard, growing red. He was pressing up so hard, his wrist clenching Cap's as it shook.

“Ok, ok, ok, you’re strong,” Peter admitted with a a gasp of breath, his hand dangerously close to being slammed down.

Cap grinned in sympathy, "I know kid. You should have-"

"But not strong enough," Peter said happily, cutting his act.

He straightened his back and smiled at Steve who looked at him in nervous confusion. Peter's once worried and nervous demeanor had dissipated and the teenager had a smirk plastered on his face which was slowly returning to it's normal color. His hand unclenched on the table and Sam let out a whistle on the side of the room, everyone staring at the teen with shock. Tony was the only one who's mouth was not open in amazement, instead there was a knowing smile on his face as he watched.

"One, never underestimate your enemy," Peter said simply, before he set his jaw and tensed his arm. He turned Cap's wrist and then pushed upward at full strength. Cap let out a small groan, his arm shaking as he fought against Peter's steady one.

"Two, whenever you think you have the advantage, you don't," Peter sighed, slowly but surely making a full turn with Cap's hand, in the final stretch.

"Three?" Peter said with a cocky smile. "I'm Spiderman." He pushed hard and Cap let his hand drop, Peter hitting it down on the other side of the table with a triumphant smirk.

Cap started laughing, unclasping hands with Peter as he shook out his wrist, flexing his fingers. "Holy crap," he remarked with a laugh filled with disbelief and awe.

Peter cracked his knuckles and grinned, the Avengers crowding the table to either congratulate Peter or tease Steve who reached across the table and shook the boy's hand. Peter then turned to look at Tony and smiled, "You knew, didn't you?"

"About halfway through," Tony admitted.

"Darn," Peter laughed lightly.

"You knew?" Wanda exclaimed.

Tony shrugged, "Call it an educated guess." He winked at Peter.

Walking down the steps to the lab, Tony tossed Peter a screwdriver as he opened the door to the rest of the room. "I gotta say kid, that was well played," Tony admitted as Peter followed him with a smug grin. 

"Thank you. I wanted to trick you but then I saw you smile and I knew you were onto me," Peter said. "You suck. I would have kept a straight face and then you laughed."

"I'm sorry I ruined your perfect scheme," Tony rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, yeah, I can tell you're hugely apologetic," Peter countered, walking over to the computer. "Did we maximize the signal yet?"

"Yeah, but we didn't add it onto the new scanner we perfected. That should give us a couple hundred more miles give or take a few and if we can get into the satellite feed we can cover even more distance."

"FRIDAY how's it coming with that database search?" Peter wondered.

_"80% complete."_

"That's one big computer," Tony sighed. "It's crazy how much we didn't know about."

Peter tapped the thumb drive that was hooked in, "And crazy how much we were able to find."

Tony nodded before he searched his pockets, "I need to grab the tablet, we need to fix one of the recon suit modes. Rev it up for me will ya? You'll probably need to reattach the-"

Peter waved him off, "Yeah because you took it out again even though I said it didn't change the numbers."

Tony spun back around, pointing at him, "Oh, no. Don't you-"

"Did it mess with the numbers? No," Peter grinned, ducking behind the suit as Tony wound up, snatching a small pen to throw. He shuffled through the contents of the desk and when he didn;t find it he yelled to Tony who was in the other room of the lab. "Where'd you put it!"

"It the drawer like it always is! Look with your hands!" Tony shouted back. "Idiot," the man muttered, thinking Peter couldn't hear him. 

"Heard that!" Peter shouted and Tony cursed. Peter smiled, opening the drawer and moving things around. He checked the first and second and when he got to the third he finally found it, and was about to pull it out when something caught his eye. He yanked the drawer open further and pulled out a small photo from in a closed book; it had been barely visible.

Peter brushed off dust and exaimined it. In the photo was a little boy, about 6 maybe, on a motorcycle, a man behind him with black hair and a black mustache, both smiling for a camera. 

"How long does it take you to find-" Tony laughed, walking back in before he stopped, noticing what Peter was staring at. "Oh."

"Sorry- I-" Peter started to put it back even though he didn't want to but Tony shook his head. 

"No, it's- it's ok, I just... haven't seen that in years," he admitted, taking the picture from Peter and chuckling to himself. 

"That's you, isn't it?" Peter asked. 

"Can't you tell? From the ravishing good looks?" Tony joked. 

"No, but the stupid smile gives it away. The blank look in his eyes? Total resemblance- I'm kidding, I'm kidding-" Peter laughed, avoiding the tablet that was flicked towards his arm. He circled his way back and peered over Tony's hand to look at the photo. He pointed to the man behind him, "Is that-"

"Howard Stark himself. My pops," Tony nodded. "Cap knew him." There was venom in his voice, as if that hurt him to say, or maybe Peter was missing something. "Taught me how to build my first engine."

"You built that?" Peter said in shock, looking at the motorcycle with his jaw dropped. 

"Six years old," Tony nodded. "First circuit board when I was four. It was mostly my old man who got me into all that. He wanted me to be smart. Knew I had to run Stark Industries, so he raised me to do just that. Graduated MIT when I was 17, and when I was 21 I took over the company."

"Were you guys..." Peter didn't know the word to say. 

"Close?" Tony filled in for him.

"Yeah," Peter nodded. 

"No," Tony said simply. "He wasn't my biggest fan. He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me. His happiest day was probably when he shipped me off to boarding school.”

”Oh,” Peter said sadly. 

“It’s fine kid," Tony assured him. "I grew up like that.” 

“Was he always just like that though? You said Cap knew him,” Peter pointed out.

Tony made a face and looked down, laughing sarcastically. “Nah, my dad loved Steve. He was more like his son then me.”

”Tony, that’s not true,” Peter said, shaking his head. He figured Tony was making a joke, but the man actually looked dead serious. 

“Yeah it is kid,” Tony smiled with an odd expression between nostalgia, regret, and guilt. He handed Peter back the picture and shrugged. “It’s ok. I’m not mad about it, I mean I guess I was for a bit. Mostly because I never got to...play ball with my dad. It was arc reactors and nuclear physics.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter said, looking down at the picture with less excitement then he originally had. He couldn’t help but glare at the man holding his sons shoulders just for the cover of a magazine. 

“He wasn’t all bad,” Tony admitted. “He never told me so but...he had expectations and I guess- I can only hope he was proud when I met them. I mean he left me the company. But I never really got to talking with him about anything other than science and business and school and all that fun stuff. The night he and my mom died we actually had a fight so I guess it was just fate that we would never sort things out.”

”Oh,” Peter said quietly. He put the paper down, “You didn’t deserve that.”

Tony smirked, “Don’t get all sappy on me. Don’t worry, I’m a big boy.” 

Peter shook his head, frowning, “No, don’t- don’t do that. You always do that.” 

“Do what?” Tony scoffed.

”Use humor as an escape route,” Peter spluttered. “You turn it into a joke, I know you do, because I do it too. Me? I get. It makes sense I would have a crappy life. It was screwed up from the beginning, apparently I was targeted from the day I was born but you, Tony, you didn’t deserve that. And I know what you do, you hide what you feel and laugh about it, and brush over it, which makes other people brush over it too.”

Peter sighed and waved his hands before Tony could interject with an inevitable sarcastic comment, "And I'm not gonna make you pull up a chair and have a therapy session, I'm just letting you know. I see right through it. Because I do it too."

Tony smirked and looked at the floor before he glanced up sincerely and spoke softly, "Thanks kid. I'm gonna lay my head gently in my hands now. Maybe cry a little, we can hug it out, maybe even go watch the Notebook, what do you say?"

"There you go again," Peter rolled his eyes. "I will throw something at you, last warning."

“Yeah, yeah...I guess it all doesn’t end up like we want, huh?” Tony said, leaning against the bench next to Peter and nodding thoughtfully. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” Peter huffed in exasperation. 

"Just... I want you to know," Tony said slowly. "That suit in there, I started thinking of making it the day I met you. I trust you with it, and I have for a while now. I'm sorry I didn't give it to you sooner. You're a good kid Peter, you care about people, and you want to do the right thing. You'll do good things with it, I know you will. As you can probably guess, my dad never really gave me a lot of support...and I’m just trying to break the cycle of shame-"

Suddenly Peter perks up and hears something on the TV in the lab out the door. He straightens, "There's-"

Tony shoots him a look and if he had had sunglasses on, this would be the time for him to dramatically take them off. "Don’t cut me off when I’m complimenting you. Anyway, great things are about to-"

"The TV Tony- the TV!" Peter said, scrambling into the other room and skidding to a stop.

"What the heck?" Tony comes jogging after him, rather annoyed.

"Shhhh!" Peter says, wincing as he watches the shaky footage.

"Did you just-" Tony looks amused before he cranes to look up at the screen Peter is staring at and trails off. 

_"Masked figure wreaking havoc in the streets of New York. Some sort of electric vest on- it seems to be drawing power from surrounding generators. There are men and women in a building being held hostage. If you are in that area, I advise you to stay clear. Police are on the scene-"_

"Job for the Avengers?" Peter asked. 

Tony cocked his head, "This is a little...below their pay grade. Peter, I'll send someone to take care of it. I'll send the suits."

"No," Peter shook his head. "I've got to go."

"Woah, hey, what?" Tony laughed. 

"You just told me, I help people," Peter said firmly, slowly backing away despite Tony's worsening glare. "I have a new suit, made for helping people. For doing the right thing, let me do the right thing-" Peter urged. 

Tony cursed, "That was impeccably bad timing."

"Keep up," Peter said, webbing his suit and already shoving on his mask. He sprinted out of the lab before Tony could even grab his arm and swung down the hallway. 

"FRIDAY? Do teenagers ever listen?" he sighs, a suit wrapping around his back, the helmet closing over his face. 

_"Would you like me to lie sir?"_

"I've got my answer," Tony grumbled. "At least tell me his arm is okay?"

 _"Again, would you like me to lie?"_ FRIDAY responded weakly. 

Tony shook his head, swearing before blasting off down the hallway after Peter, yelling, "KID!"

Peter swung down the long driveway and made it to the top of the lamppost before he groaned, looking around. There was nothing to swing on for a while until they got to the city. Peter considered sliding down and running but before he could there was a low rumble and his headset crackled. 

"Need a lift hero?" came the sarcastic question. 

Peter grinned, not turning around as he lept off the lamppost, Tony swooping down and grabbing him under his arms. 

"Hey suit lady track the shocker guy on the news reports. Is he staying in one spot?"

_"He appears to be. Pulling up footage now and planning course to intercept. Sharing with Tony Stark."_

Peter frowned, "I didn't ask her to do that- how did she just do that?" he spluttered, looking up at Tony. 

"I made the suit kid," Tony sighed. "We'll be there in three minutes."

"We have to hurry," Peter said, footage scrolling across his display. "They were right, he's definately routing energy from the generators."

"Shocker. Sorry, not funny. Ok, so we've got a little situation. What's your plan? Go," Tony said firmly. 

Peter nodded firmly and racked his brain stuttering, "Uh, ok, ok, uh, so think. The energy is coming from the generators. If we take out the generators, we take out his power."

"Right and how do we do that?" Tony asked. 

Peter blinked, "You take out the generators while I distract him."

Tony scoffed, "It's gonna be the other way around but that's not what I meant. How do you take out the generators?"

" _You'll_ take them out by either replicating a surge of power strong enough to disable it, find the source and destroy it, or get him to disconnect from one of them in time to cut the power," Peter said. 

"FRIDAY alert police force we're on our way," Tony said. 

_"Will do."_

_"Tony?"_ That was a different voice. Natasha. _"Where the heck are you? The meeting's in seven minutes. I know you're usually late but FRIDAY said you weren't even in the building."_

"Yeah, we had a bit of a situation," Tony admitted. 

"Guess I get to take it from here," Peter said happily, trying to wriggle out of Tony's grasp as they swerved through buildings, finally reaching the city. 

"Yeah, not a chance kid," Tony laughed without humor before he winced. "Nat, I'm not gonna make it."

_"Was that Peter?"_

"Yeah, hi Nat! Tell Tony to go home," Peter called loudly. 

"He's being difficult," Tony said. 

_"What's going-"_

"I can literally hear you," Peter looked up angrily. 

"Good!"

_"Do you need backup?"_

"No, we'll be good. Just stall for the board, or actually no, I don't care about those people enough to hurry this up. It's gonna be a while. Reschedule. Tell them I got sick."

_"I said that last time. I think you've used every single normal excuse in the book."_

"Then make up a crazy one. Face it, I've probably done every single thing running through your head right now," Tony said. "Peter, I swear to God, I will drop you if you don't stop it."

"I'll land on all fours," Peter sneered.

Tony looked down, "I thought you were supposed to be a spider, not a freaking cat?"

"Why don't we find out?" Peter taunted. 

"Oh, here we are, bye Nat, gotta go. Good talk, lots of love," Tony hung up on her.

_"Bye-"_

Tony lets Peter go who shoots a web, swinging forward and landing perfectly in a crouch in the middle of the police blockade.

"Nice jump show off," Tony scoffs.

Peter straightens, his lenses widening, "I could have stuck the landing a little better. Just new suit and all."

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you prefer swimming goggles and sweatpants?" Tony asked.

"I take it back, forget I said anything- what is it with you and the swimming goggles?" Peter spluttered.

Tony descends next to him and a police officer approaches him, shaking his head in worry. "I was worried no one was going to help. It's been getting worse every minute. We've got at least 40 men and women trapped in that building. We can't cut his power, and we can't even make a dent. We don't even know his name," the man said, before backing away. 

"I can help with that. FRIDAY run facial-"

Peter's voice crackled across Tony's headset, swinging down in the street. "Herman Schultz was born in New York City. Multiple arrest warrants, misdemeanors and felonies. Criminal record. Successful burglar and one of the world's best safe crackers. This guy's got it all going for him. But where'd he get the tech?"

Tony went to meet him, "It looks like he built it. FRIDAY's reading a number of built-in shock units and some type of gauntlet that harnesses surrounding energy almost like a magnet. Dang. He's got a protective vibrational field too. It's gonna be impossible to get the drop on him, he's got motion detectors," Tony said, hovering midair as he zoomed in on the man down the street. 

"I'll distract him, you go get the generators," Peter said, about to swing. 

"Kid-" Tony said, and the tone of his voice clearly made the kid stop and turn. "I don't doubt you, not for a second. But don't tell me you thought this through-"

"I did think this through-"

"No you didn't-"

"I did think this through-"

"It's gonna be easier for you to get to the people inside. That's just a fact Peter. If we can't sneak up on him, then it doesn't matter who fights him, just who's flashier. Which is me, with hot rod red and gold, flying around like a gnat in his ear. You can sneak around, disable the generators, and get inside the building. Be careful of the structure, I'm sure it's weak. Use your A.I. she can do pretty much anything."

Peter wasn't arguing and Tony continued just in case. "I trust you kid. I know you're a good fighter. Heck, you could have taken me out when we first met. This is not on the level of skill you have, I promise, or me being overprotective."

"That's debatable," Peter mumbled.

"He's not gonna expect me to be working with anyone. With you here we have the advantage, do you understand?"

Peter clearly didn't like it but he nodded, "Fine. Don't get shocked. I'll be the first one to say I told you so."

"Good for you Underoos," Tony shook his head.

Peter looked back, "What's underoos?"

"Nothing. And if you look it up, you'll kill me," Tony said dismissively.

He webbed the top of the building and swung towards the far building where the first stream was.

Tony put up his palm once Peter was out of sight and aimed, getting the green light on his screen. "Hey big guy."

He fired. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta daaaaaaaa. I've always wanted to write about Howard's relationship with Tony because it always pissed me off that Tony had a relationship with him like that, which also makes me love how he tries to be better for Peter. The arm wrestling was sooooo much fun for me to write you have no idea XD and he's got the suit!!!!  
> POLL: Iron Spider suit built next by the both of them??? Yes or no?  
> And towards the end we got a little shocker actionnnn. (will take up rest of next chapter and we'll get a little fluff at the end that has to do with football and maybe Peter crashing a board meeting idk- i said what i said) AND THEN we are in the home stretch, with some heavy hitters. But first we've got a in city battle, so we get some beloved action and yes a hug coming up. and maybe a fight. who knows? Peter and Tony do what they want, I just write them what can I say.  
> Please let me know what you think- your comments make my day and I love reading them and talking with you guys. I really hope you like it and thank you so much for reading!! Stay tuned!!! I will not make promises for when the next chapter is coming out but due to a busy schedule I think it will stay in the 4-6 day range <3  
> I love you all 3000


	17. Sparks and Scorches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooooo lovely readers! I'm backkkkk and this chapter made my day a little bit better so I hope it does the same for you <3 It's a good one- I personally rly like it. It would have come out sooner but AO3 decided to delete half my chapter so that was fun :) :) we love that  
> ANYWAY a lot goes on. We get some action a nice fight scene with my fav duo. A hug (a real one, long overdue) and then a few talks that I like to add in every once in a while. Also I thought Peter interrupting a Stark Industries meeting would be fun, and usually it's funny and awkward but then I thought to myself- this Peter would not give a crap about interrupting people so I had fun with the last bit. So enjoy!!!! I love all of you- the support for this story has been amazing and I cannot thank you enough <3 You are all amazing and I am so grateful :)  
> Enjoy the chapter!

Tony flipped up, avoiding a surge of electricity.

"Peter? Peter, answer me kid," Tony said. Nothing. He cursed, "Alright we gotta wrap this up. With 3 generators done, Sparky's gotta be-" Tony fired up his boosters and did a flip, spiraling down to hit the criminal straight in the chest. The man curled his fists and Tony didn't pull away in time, muttering, "Woah- woah- woah-"

Herman's gauntlets heated up and fired, hitting him right in his chest with more power than he expected. Tony went flying and he hit the ground so hard he cracked the cement, rolling to a stop against a trashed police car.

"Gosh darn it, he's doing it again," Tony said weakly.

 _"Multiple concussions detected,"_ FRIDAY reported. 

"Yeah, I got that," Tony groaned as he got to his hands and knees, hearing the blaster heat up again. But it wasn't aimed at him. He watched as the Shocker glared at him with a sick grin and turned, glowing with hot white sparks brighter than he ever had. A high pitch ringing filled Tony's ears and he hurriedly fired a shot that just got absorbed by the massive energy ball that was circling the man.

With a loud yell the Shocker released it all and fired a massive blast, letting all his remaining energy loose on the building Peter had ended up in. 

"NO!" Tony yelled. The surge hit it full on and it covered the structure from top to bottom, sparking up along the sides, flames igniting. Tony got to his feet and engaged his boosters, picking up the car and throwing it forward. It crashed into the unsuspecting Shocker and Tony flipped over it, furiously blasted the man in the chest when he had the opening, knocking him flat on his back. He shot himself up, spinning his thrusters before narrowing his eyes and diving down. He slammed the man full force, so hard into the road that it cracked, leaving him dented in the concrete. Tony picked up the car again and slammed it down, actually denting the hood, before he hovered over the limp criminal. 

His arc reactor heated up and shot a massive beam right in the center of Herman's chest, and the man let lose a scream as his entire suit fizzled and exploded, burning him as it shut down. Schultz's suit was disabled, out of electricity. Now he was just a man in a stupid costume. Tony's glare darkened; this was his chance.

"If that kid is so much as scratched I am coming back for you, and you will wish you were dead," Tony snarled, taking in the pure fear in the man's eyes. He punched him as hard in the head and then once in the chest, slamming him deeper into the concrete that buckled under the weight of Tony's punch. Herman's eyes rolled into the back of his head, lying limp in the road deprived of even the chance to scream. 

Tony raised himself on one knee as he looked over his unconscious enemy in triumph. But he didn't savor the moment. "Take care of him!" he yelled to the cops that had started forward. They began to wrestle the suit off the unconscious criminal and handcuff him, guns trained on every point.

Tony spun and stared at the building, blasting himself forward. He was about halfway there when he saw people emerge from the smoke that was pouring out of the blown up first floor, stumbling over the stream of electricity that was still sparking on the ground of rubble. The sparks were still encasing the building.

"No, no, no- I call BS. That does not obey physics," Tony craned his neck to look up in twisted awe at the electricity circling the structure. "FRIDAY, that shouldn't be possible. We need to look more into that guy's tech," Tony demanded.

_"Trying to get readings."  
_

The dude had thrown him and Peter around more than he had expected, and had been able to send surges of electricity pulsing that ripped up the city's streets, shut down Tony's suit, and fired with incredible accuracy. 

"Where are you kid?" Tony wondered nervously as he didn't see Peter among the people the teen obviously saved. Men and women were rushing out of the doors, coughing, covered in smoke, narrowly avoiding the sparking doorway. Tony cursed, landing in a run as he worked his way through the group of people to get to the door. Civilians pushed past and Tony asked each of them, "The guy who saved you, where is he? Hey, did you see him? Is he still in there? Hey, is he still in there?"

Tony finally caught one man's arm who had just thrown a cell phone aside. Frowning in confusion Tony puts aside his questions, fed up with the denial of responses, and asked urgently, "Hey what's your name?"

"Niall," the man coughs.

"Niall, nice to meet you buddy. Listen, Spiderman- where is he?"

"Still inside," he coughed again, leaning heavily on Tony who gladly supported him, helping him stagger away. "Got us all out. Had to hold up the ceiling- the whole place was falling apart. We barely got out alive."

Tony held Niall up, practically dragging him to a police officer running towards him, "You're gonna be ok buddy. What floor? Do you remember what floor?" Tony asked firmly. Just then the whole 6th floor blew up in flames, the windows shattering as flames billowed out, electricity sparking even more around the entire building. 

"That one," Niall said weakly to Tony's despair. 

His face fell and he gripped his arm, letting the officer get an arm around him, "Get out of here, go!"

"You're crazy- you can't go back in there," Niall coughed, looking over his shoulder as he limped away. 

"My kid's in there," Tony said firmly, brushing off an arm of a police officer who was trying to convince him of the same thing. He flew forward shouting into his coms, "Peter, you read me? Pete? Talk to me kid."

_"I'm getting no response. His coms are shown to be offline. I can't even get a signal for tracking. Heat scanners are useless."_

"Something must have happened," Tony said, nodding firmly, keeping his calm. "That means he's still alive." He quickly started forward, firing up his boots to fly through the fire and into the building when suddenly FRIDAY let out a warning.

_"Tony! Something just triggered massive structure failure- it's coming down- don't-"_

The base crumbled first. The lobby caught on fire, flames exploding out of the doors, the remaining windows breaking and raining down on the sidewalk, chunks of concrete already falling down and exploding against the street. People screamed as they ran for cover. Tony slid out of the way, avoiding a massive rock, putting his hands up against the flames that were flickering around him.

"Its not done," Tony said weakly, having no choice but to use his thrusters and force himself back. But he knew that wasn't the worst part. The building had just been weakened severely. It was going to-

"It's not done-" Tony mumbled, finding his voice. FRIDAY amplified it on his outside speakers and Tony yelled, "IT'S NOT DONE! MOVE!" He waved people away, urging them to take shelter, yelling, "GET DOWN! GET-"

There was a millisecond of silence in which Tony turned around, looking in horror at the building. 

FRIDAY muted his external mic as he screamed, "PETER!"

The impact hit him hard and Tony was blown backward, ripping up the street he was mercilessly slammed into, tumbling across the ground as the front half of the building exploded. 

**10 minutes and 56 seconds earlier**

"I think he noticed me," Tony said, after firing the first blast.

"TONY STARK!" Schultz yelled, banging his fists together and squaring off.

"You think?" came Peter's retort, ducking behind a police car.

"You go left," Tony directed, hovering in the air, his stabilizers a steady thrust as he fired again on the man below who only slightly staggered. "Ok, FRIDAY note that I gotta hit Mr. Incredible harder when I go in."

_"Noted."_

"I'll go right," Peter countered, hopping over a barrier to get in the loop. 

"Pick a side, just stay out of sight- hey that rhymed," Tony noticed, his display popping up and giving him locations for the criminal's energy sources. "He's got 3- no 4 buildings he's drawing power from. And he's pissed."

Peter swung left and sprinted across the opposing street without Herman noticing. He flung himself forward and dissapeared inside a building, his voice ringing out a second later, "We should give him a name. Instead of just calling him the dude."

"That's what you're thinking about?" Tony scoffed, narrowing his eyes and firing again, a bigger blast that knocked the man on his back. Tony grinned, "Well hey, would ya look at-"

Schultz had gotten up slowly but too late Tony registered the huge stream of electricity that came hurtling towards him. He ducked just in time, flailing midair before exclaiming, "Woah! FRIDAY, thanks for my warning. You couldn't track that?"

 _"I didn't even get a surge reading,"_ she said nervously. 

"What happened?" Peter demanded through comms. "You ok? Not worried just...curious."

"The dude almost zapped me," Tony said, firing another beam that exploded the next surge of energy between his enemy and him. "Luckily, I'm the boss," Tony admitted with the nod of his head. 

"Well he does have electricity powers. Shocker," Peter slurred sarcastically before the kid gasped, "Shocker! HA! That's his name."

"You sound like a 4 year old who named his dog," Tony said, swerving around another stream. He fired up his boots and dove, landing harshly and taking a running shot that the man obviously wasn't ready for, getting his first solid punch in. Tony grabbed the Schultz's shoulder and kicked off him, sliding to one knee and blasting him in the chest. Tony ducked under a beam of sparks and shot him in the back, greeting calmly, "Hey Herman, how's it going?"

"I'm going to kill you," the man seethed.

"Oh that's not very nice," Tony mocked. 

"Hey Herman? How's it going?" Peter quoted dryly. 

"Shut up kid, God, it's like having a backseat driver. Just get to the dang generator," he grumbled.

Peter laughed, "I'm going, you as-"

"Oh can't hear you," Tony cut Peter off, "Sparky here, is too distracting. What a flashy vest you have there man, where'd you get it? Forever 21?" Tony swerved under and hit the man in the chest. 

"I should have known you would come," Herman snarled, letting lose a blast that clipped Tony and sent him tumbling before regaining his balance and shooting forward, slamming into the man's chest.

"Ok, I made it to the basement. Does this suit have some sort of shock mode? I need a surge," Peter said urgently.

"You're the genius, figure it out kid. Learn how to use your new onesie," Tony directed.

"Uh...ok, ok, ok, uh...suit lady, show me whatcha got. Taser web- taser web- it's called taser web!" Peter said excitedly. 

"Yep, that's great kid. Mind blowing the crap up?" Tony said, still avoiding electricity as Peter talked. He slid past the Shocker and grabbed one of the car doors from an overturned police car, smacking the man in the chest. He spun and hit him again and as Schultz tried to draw power from his generators. Little did he know that only 3 streams powered the next blast that he shot at Tony.

Tony avoided it, getting into the air, "Good kid! Go get the next one! It worked."

He saw Peter climb out of the broken window and shoot a web, swinging into the next building, hitting the door open with his foot and rolling in. Tony didn't let the Shocker even turn. He fired another blast and dove down, punching Herman in the face. Then he spun and elbowed him across the head.

Schultz snarled and grabbed Tony's arm, pulsing energy from his gauntlet. Sparks covered Tony's vision and he winced, putting up a hand as he was punched in the face. Tony stumbled back, whacking his sparking arm with his hand when suddenly FRIDAY's voice sounded in his ear, _"Power at 210 percent."_

The Shocker grinned evilly but Tony cocked his head, smirking, "Well would you look at that?" He fired back, blasting the Shocker across the road and slamming him into the other building with the extra power he had. 

"I got it! Second one is down!" Peter reported happily. "I'm going to-"

"No! Stay there!" Tony demanded worriedly, hovering midair in front of the Shocker. "Sparky's right under you."

"Oh shoot," Peter said and Tony saw the flash of his red and blue suit in the building behind the Shocker, who was getting to his feet. Peter waved at Tony and then ducked back into the dark of the building, his voice ringing out a second later in a harsh whisper, "It's like a really intense game of hide and seek."

"Hold on, I'll distract him," Tony said firmly. Diving in and firing a large missile at the man who batted it into the ground a couple feet away. The road exploded and Tony spread his hands, shouting, "Come and get me you son of a-"

"Pretty sure that's just making him angry," Peter noted as Schultz snarled and ran forward, electricity sparking in his wake. 

"Oh look at that, he's distracted. Go," Tony said, firing up his blasters and shooting forward, weaving around surges that the man blasted at him. Tony caught Schultz in the chest and slammed him down, punching him across the face. 

Peter swung into the next building and Tony did a loop, firing another blast that Herman exploded before he hit him. Tony landed and ducked an enraged punch, taking note of the sparking gauntlets and the circuits on his suit as he landed another punch and then blocked a surge of energy with a blast that sent them both stumbling.

"You know, we should totally exchange tech notes, cause' your stuff is honestly awesome, just not when it's...blowing up things," Tony said, sliding to one knee and blasting the man onto his back. 

"I gotta ask, why?" Tony questioned, jumping into the air, cockily moving aside as the Shocker made a sloppy blast. "Don't want to answer? That's okay too. If you're not much of a talker-"

"Do you not shut up?" Peter laughed. "You're worse than me."

"Hey, you're not in this conversation," Tony said, slamming his fist into Herman's face. "Ouch. Sorry." He heard shuffling and commotion in his ear and while he avoided some blasts from Schultz, flipping him over his shoulder, he asked, "You good kid?"

"I'm gonna have to explode the wall, I can't get to this one," Peter called out. 

"Woah, woah, woah-" Tony looked at the building, getting off of Herman who he had slammed into the ground, "That's not cool. Try not to break things?"

Suddenly the Shocker punched upward, with more force Tony had accounted for. Tony stumbled and then he was suddenly blasted in the chest, slamming into a cop car, shattering the windshield and denting the roof. 

"You're one to talk!" Peter shot back.

"Ok, not cool," Tony groaned, jumping off and spiraling forward. "How are we at with those power levels of Sparky over there?"

_"He's conserving it, that's why he hasn't noticed the power shortage. If he finds out and decides to use all of it, that's when levels will hit...dangerous levels."_

"Nice, well that's just great. And because his tech is all whack, you won't be able to tell me when that happens, will you?" Tony sighed.

_"Unfortunately not."_

"Of course, well we just hope for the best then, right?' Tony said, firing about 20 missiles from his suit. A huge fireball erupted in the center of the road and Tony flew higher, scanning for Herman's location within the flames. 

"Ok, I just knocked the wall over- I got it, I got it! Almost done, then I can help with Shocker. One to go," Peter announced, and he swung out of the building, heading for the main structure. 

"Remember kid, there's people in there. Get everyone out before you come help me with Sparky," Tony said, honing in on the criminal and firing a blast, avoiding one in return.

"You just want to get rid of me," Peter said with a light laugh, scaling a building and jumping off. 

Tony shook his head, "No it's personal now. I've shot this dude, what, 400 times? Give or take? Usually they just....drop, ya know?" 

"Oh poor you, you wanna switch?" Peter asked.

Tony smiled and then dove, kicking the Shocker in the head before punching him in the stomach and blasting him in the chest. The man landed harshly on his chest and didn't get up.

"Speaking of the devil," Tony breathed a sigh of relief.

"You get him?" Peter asked.

"Not sure..." Tony put up both hands in triumph but approached slowly, thinking it was too good to be true. He blasted him in the back and the man sank further into the ground with a groan. Tony hovered midair, palm out. Suddenly the man moved his arm, a gauntlet becoming visible underneath his chest.

Tony raised his hands in defense as a blast was let out but it didn't hit him, it slammed into a cop car, setting it on fire and sending it flipping in the air and descending towards the crowd of people and news reporters behind the barricade. Tony cursed, putting out his arm and letting one of his gauntlet's fly to catch it. 

Tony turned, just as Herman got to his feet and reached out, grabbing Tony's arc reactor. He fingers clenched down and electricity surged, making Tony curse and stumble. He looked at the car that he was struggling to keep up and grit his teeth, unwillingly letting another gauntlet fly so they could grip both sides of the car and guide it back to the cleared pavement.

Tony couldn't use his hands and he grit his teeth, slamming his elbow into the man's head. The Shocker grinned, unphased and pulsed again, sending another stream of electricity through his suit. Tony choked, his face screwing up in pain. 

"Tony what's going on?" Peter yelled through comms. 

Tony didn't have time to answer and he grunted out, "FRIDAY, power level?"

_"500 percent and climbing. You can't break out of it while it keep surging."_

"This idiot trapped me in an electric loop. That's not good. 500 is not good," Tony groaned, feeling the suit heat up, sparks blocking his vision. His two gauntlets came and reattached themselves but it didn't make much of a difference. His suit was practically glowing as electricity crackled through it.

"FRIDAY, would this happen to be the power level that's considered dangerous?" Tony winced. He couldn't break out because the surge of electricity was being countered and absorbed by the suit. But the suit could only take so much and he knew that eventually it wouldn't be able to take anymore. Which meant it would do one of two things- explode or shut down. he hoped to God it was the second one. 

"Tony!" 

"Little situation kid, it's fine," he made out. "Believe it or not, I'm actually not meant to be this....powerful."

Peter's voice was laced with panic, "You're breaking up- I can't- T-"

"Yeah, that makes sense. FRIDAY, do whatever you can to break the hold; he's already frying our servers," Tony warned, wincing at the pressure. "FRIDAY?" Tony blinked, and his display flickered. His gaze fell. "Uh oh. Option 2."

The suit went dark, his display failing, glitching in and out. The suit suddenly locked up and Tony took a shaky breath. The Shocker grinned and blasted him in the chest and Tony braced, squeezing his eyes shut as he slammed into the wall of a building, his head smacking against the stone. 

He manually moved his hand to push his back up against the wall, his helmet receded to his neck so he could see what was going on. The Shocker hit his fists together, sparking and let lose a blast. Tony scrambled to the side, avoiding it, before he looked up, breathing hard. He just had time to curse before a blast hit him straight in the chest and Tony weakly put up his hands as Herman jumped in the air, preparing to come down on top of him.

"Tony!" Peter yelled into coms, scrambling out of the third building. "Gosh darn it Tony, answer!"

He flipped out, skidding to a stop to get his bearings as he searched the battlefield. He turned just in time to see Tony's suit go dark, the arc reactor flickering out and dying,. The Shocker grasped Tony by the chest and threw him ruthlessly into the wall. Peter heard his head hit the stone from where he was on the other side of the street and he curled his fists, a scream dying in his throat. 

Tony groaned and sat up, his suit dead, his helmet receding to his neck to reveal a badly bruised face.

Peter sprinted, picking up speed as the Shocker shot a blast that Tony ducked away from, scrambling to the side.

"Oh no you don't," Peter hissed as Herman hit Tony with another shock. He threw himself into the air just as Schultz did, prepared to bring himself down on Tony with force and an amount of energy that would probably stop Tony's heart. 

Peter swung around the lamp post and planted a kick hard in his side, sending the Shocker tumbling through the air. Peter webbed his chest as he fell and yanked it down, slamming him into the concrete. 

He put himself between Tony and his enemy and crouched, his eyes narrowed. 

"Kid, what are you doing here?" Tony asked breathlessly. 

Peter looked behind him, "Saving your-" The hair on his arms stood up straight and Peter's gaze flicked to the side. He instinctively flipped up as a stream exploded the street beneath him. Peter landed back in a crouch and glared just as the Shocker straightened and grinned. 

"Does Iron Man have a side kick?" he taunted, his fists sparking. Peter glared at him with murder in his eyes. 

"Oh you're dead," Tony announced from behind him. "You're gonna wish you hadn't said that."

"I'm not a side kick," Peter growled, launching himself forward. He webbed the man's hands before he could even fire and swung, using his momentum to twist them around the man's head. Ending up behind him he kicked him in the back before flipping over him, yanking the man over his head. Peter let go of the web, spinning and kicking him across the head before planting a well placed punch right in his chest.

"Take that Sparky,” Peter seethed.

The Shocker recovered quicker than Peter would have liked and he kicked him in the gut, flooring him.

“Ow- crap,” Peter winced, rolling away desperately, webbing a near street corner and pulling himself away from the punch the Shocker landed that ripped up the road. Peter scrambled to his feet, putting up his hands to stop any incoming blasts but Herman wasn't aiming at him. He shot another blast at Tony, who had just gotten up and hit him across the head and this time, Tony hit the brick wall without any helmet. 

He slumped unconscious and Peter yelled in anger from the other side of the street, sprinting forward and webbing the sparking hand the man had raised. He flipped midair, yanking it down before flinging himself forward and body checking the man, knocking him to the side.

”You don’t want to do this buddy, trust me. How about I let you go? You have 5 seconds to surrender now, take off ur pretty sparky bracelets and turn yourself in,” Peter suggested.

Schultz stumbled back, spitting out blood and he bared his teeth, a massive spark hitting the ground right where Peter was a second ago.

"Missed me," Peter grinned. “I take it’s a no on the whole surrendering thing?”

The man snarled and he shot another one which Peter ducked under, sprinting forward and hitting him across the face before he jumped off the wall and ended up in his same position. Schultz was getting pissed now and he furiously shot a sloppily aimed blast which Peter sidestepped, webbing him in the face.

"Oh, wow, I am so sorry- that was just not placed very well, was it? You can still breath though, right?" Peter winced. Herman growled, starting for Peter again. He growled and swung forward, avoiding the first surge of energy before diving down to land a punch. The man suddenly pulsed, and a circle of electricity exploded, smacking right into Peter. He was blown backwards and he grabbed the nearest thing to stop his fall which happened to be a lamppost.

”Not cool!” Peter grumbled, swinging around before he sucked in a breath and yelped, kicking his legs to try and turn himself around.

The wave of sparks kept coming and the glass casing exploded, slicing Peter's arm and his web. He went tumbling, unable to stop himself so he braced, tucking his legs in and rolling with the impact. 

He slid to a stop on his stomach and started to scramble to his feet when suddenly a searing pain hit him in the back and spread throughout his whole body. Peter screamed, gritting his teeth as he got to his hands and knees, only to be hit again. He looked down at his palms and saw literally sparks surging around his body. Peter collapsed onto his side, curling his fists, his muscles locking up. 

He groaned and tried to kick but he went rigid, his display glitching from the surge of energy. 

"Tough one. Been through a lot haven't you, kid?" Schultz admitted with a hint of respect. 

Peter looked up weakly, and groaned, "Screw you."

Another pulse hit him in the chest and Peter fell flat on his back, his jaw clenched, writhing in pain on the ground. He exhaled sharply, sweat dripping down his forehead in the mask. He couldn't move. 

"Stay down kid," the man directed. "I'm not here to kill you." He turned away from Peter and walked towards Tony.

”You stay away from him-“ Peter yelled weakly. The helmet was back up on the Iron Man suit, Peter should have noticed that, but he didn't. It was limp against the wall and Peter curled his fists, trying to move his legs to get up as the Shocker approached Tony. 

Herman grabbed Tony's suit and raises it off the ground. The arc reactor is missing, the suit dark, and Peter grits his teeth. "No-" he croaks. Peter forces himself onto his side and slams a palm flat on the ground, shuddering from the electricity shock. He gets to his hands and knees and staggers to his feet, stumbling forward, his vision weaving in and out. Peter aims and webs the man's back, throwing himself forward with everything he has.

The Shocker turns and puts an arm out and Peter braces but he can't stop himself. It decks him, smacking Peter across the throat. He slams to the ground on his back, groaning and then screams as another surge hits him right in the chest. Then before Peter can even take another breath, the Shocker swings an arm and knocks the entire helmet right off the suit's shoulders. 

The helmet bounces to the ground in front of Peter's feet.

"NO!" Peter screams, his eyes widening in fear, his heart stopping. 

"Surprise," Tony seethes; he had dropped out of the suit a second earlier; his feet hit the ground and he looped something around his hand, pulsing. The arc reactor was smoking as it let out a massive blast, blowing Schultz backward and digging him into the gravel. Tony threw the piece of metal to the side cursing before he slid to the ground and picked up half of the car door he had dropped. Sprinting forward and jumping, he drove it into the man's chest, cracking a bit of his suit. 

The Shocker yelled in pain and kicked him harshly in retaliation. Tony went flying backwards when suddenly a new suit swooped in and caught him. Tony hit the ground on one knee, looking up with his Iron Man eyes gleaming white. He blasted Shocker into a cop car before he straightened and ran over to Peter who was weakly staggering to his feet. 

"You ok kid? Easy," Tony said, holding Peter up so he could regain his balance. 

Peter's head hurt. He felt like he had just gotten struck by lightning, but he managed, "Never better. Let's go- we gotta beat him-"

"There's people in that building Peter, I need you to go get them. Go. Now. I'll finish off Sparky."

"You sure?" Peter asked, gripping Tony's shoulder. 

The helmet receded and Tony winked at him, sporting a black eye and a cut along the side of his face, "I'm sure. Go."

Peter nodded and limped a couple steps before he broke into a sprint, flinging himself into the air to get momentum before he crashed through the 3rd floor window. He winced and put a hand to his ear, "Hey suit lady, you back?"

_"I'm here Peter. How do you feel? You experienced a severe shock. Any more exposure would have done damage to your heart."_

"Of course it would have-" Peter sighs. Can he ever catch a freaking break? "Well then I guess I'm glad it didn't, right?"

 _"Right,"_ she agrees. 

Peter runs down the hallway, checking all the doors, "Hey do me a favor and run-"

_"All individuals are located on 6th floor. All civilians 5 and below evacuated, but remaining are unable to get out. A structure failure is blocking all exits down. All upper levels have made it to 6th."_

"How many people are there?" Peter asked. 

_"24,"_ she reported. 

"But the stairway is clear the rest of the way? And the lobby?"

_"Yes. Pulling up structural report now."_

Peter scans it over for a quick second and nods before pointing to the 6th floor where the heat signatures are clumped together. "Ok, suit lady, get me there."

_"Planning course to intercept. Proceed to side window."_

"I can do that," Peter nods, picking up a chair and smacking it against the window which promptly shatters. He crawls out and webs the side, starting to crawl up as fast as he can. "Hey suit lady? I feel bad calling you...suit lady. I think I should probably give you a name. Like MJ. No, that would be weird."

 _"Who's MJ?"_ The A.I. asked, just as calm as Peter, even though they're on the outside of a building with Tony fighting the Shocker right below.

"One of my friends. She bullies me, but like in a friend way, you know? Pretty sure she thinks I'm a loser. Hey what about Karen?" Peter asks, flinging himself up the side of the building and sliding down a bit as he sticks to a window. 

_"You can call me Karen, if you would like,"_ she agrees. 

"Ok Karen, well strap in, I'm gonna break another window," he announces, webbing a little further up. He plants his feet against the window and bends his knees, flinging himself backward before he flies straight into the window. 

It shatters and breaks and Peter tumbles in, rolling as best he can. He ricochets of a chair and goes tumbling, landing on his back in the center of the room. People scream and Peter blinks, looking up. "Hi."

Men and women step backward as Peter flips to his feet, landing in a crouch and putting out his hands, "I'm here to help. We need to get you guys out of here."

"Hey, you're that Spiderman, from youtube," someone points with a smile.

Peter turns and nods, "Yeah! Yeah, that's me. Hurray. Go team. This is everyone right?" A chorus of agreements make Peter sigh with relief, "Ok, the staircase, it's blocked right? So I'll just move the stuff, and then we can get out of here-"

"It's not that easy," a woman winces. "We already tried to move it."

"Show me," Peter says firmly. They lead him over to the stairway which isn't even a stairway anymore. The ceiling is caved in, two massive chunks of ceiling blocking the entrance but also clearly moved in to pop up the collapsing sides.

"Who thought of the beams?" Peter nodded, "Smart."

"I did," one of the women raises her hand. 

"Good thinking. You just saved all of our lives," Peter gave a thumbs up. 

_"Not quite."_

Peter makes a face, "Ah, Karen, with the good news."

His A.I. sounds worried, _"I'm reading massive structure failure. Once you move these beams it will cause a ripple that could possibly bring the entire building down."_

Peter paled, "And this is the only exit?"

 _"I'm afraid so,"_ Karen responds. 

Peter curses before he nods, pressing his hands to his temples, squeezing his eyes shut, "Ok, ok, here's what we're gonna do people. Listen up. I need 2 cell phones. One of them you're not gonna get back.

"Greg's got a Samsung," someone points to a dude who sadly holds up his phone. 

"Cool. Sorry dude," Peter says with a slight wince. "You mind?"

"Just get me out of here," Greg says. "And I'll switch to Apple."

Peter frowns, "I don't really know what that means, nor do I care so cool. Ok. Someone call his phone. Whoever does will have to keep me on the line with him the entire time. That person will be the last one out, do you understand?"

"I'll do it," one man says. 

"What's your name?" Peter asks. 

"Nial," the man says firmly, pulling out his phone. 

"Cool, Nial. Call Greg. Greg what's your password? Just in case I need to get back in and recall?" Peter requests. 

"Password," Greg says.

"No. What is it?" Peter repeats.

"Spell the word password," Greg says weakly. 

Peter looks up blankly. "Greg, what do you do here?"

"Head of security," the man mumbles. 

"Good Lord," Peter sighs, shaking his head before he gets himself back on track. "Everyone get ready to run down steps like you've never run before. You help each other get out, do not leave one behind. You stay orderly, you stay safe and you haul your butt down those stairs as fast as you can. I'm holding this up until you get out and when I say get out, I mean get out. This building may come down so get at least behind the police barricade."

"What about the shocker guy?"

"He's is being taken care of. Tony- Stark is down there," Peter said, careful to add his last name in there at the end. "Nial, you stay on the line, keep me updated. If someone gets hurt, get them out. If you can't, let me know exactly where they are so I can swing by on my way down. Do you all understand?"

Everyone nods. Peter goes over to the stairway and surveys the blockage. "Two go through at a time. Nial, call Greg's phone and answer it. Leave it on the ground on speaker phone at my feet ok?"

Niall nods and does what Peter directs as Peter puts his hands under the two large pieces of ceiling and bends his knees. "Another thing," he winces. "You see sparks, jump over it, get away from it, do not touch it. It hurts like hell. Run fast people. We can do this. Ok? Ok, go team. Ready, 3, 2, 1-"

Peter lifts the beams with a groan and feels the literally floor break under the weight he had just shifted. "Two by two, go, go, go!" he yells. 

People slip through the now open hole and Peter can hear them going down the steps. Soon Niall is the only one left and he claps Peter on the shoulder, "Thank you."

"You can thank me when you're out. Phone call working?" Peter groans. 

Niall nods, "Yeah."

"Ok, keep me posted buddy," Peter demands before flicking his head over his shoulder, "Now get the heck out of here."

Niall nods and ducks through the opening, running down the stairs. Peter grips the sides tightly and winces, sweat dripping down the side of his head. "Karen, pull up any news reports you can from outside footage. Niall, you still with me?"

"We're at level 3 Spiderman, almost there."

"Good, good," Peter winces. 

"What about you?" the man asks. 

"I'll be fine," Peter says weakly. "Don't worry about me, just get yourself out of there."

Suddenly a news broadcast pops up and Peter watches as the Shocker turns towards their building, his building and shoots a massive blast. Peter turns and cranes his neck around the doorway just in time to see the blast hit the windows in front of him. With a yell, he braces as the room behind the wall in front of him explodes. Peter tucks his head into his chest and desperately tries to maintain his grip, putting his foot over the phone to shield it.

Niall's voice rings out a second later after some static, "Spiderman! You ok?"

Peter coughs from the smoke, fire licking at the floor mere feet in front of him. He looks at the room that's obliterated in front of him, the wall knocked out, flames already pouring out the windows. His entire world is orange, yellow, and hot.

"Holy crap," Peter winces, blinking. His suit is ripped and torn and he groans from the ringing in his ears. The walls around him were crumbling and Peter feels his grip slipping or not mattering anymore from the shift in the structure. 

"Hurry up and get out! Tell everyone to watch out for the lining of electricity. It's covering the building's exterior, do not touch the sides!" Peter demands. 

"Last set of stairs," Niall says. Peter grits his teeth, moving backward as much as he can as the flames begin to lick at his feet. 

"Karen, status, anything? Coms? Crap, do we even have coms?"

_"My communication and tracking connections were fried during that last surge Peter, I'm sorry."_

Peter curses, his grip slipping, "Niall please tell me you're-"

"Go! I'm the last one out, I'm getting out of the lobby now! Go!"

Peter curses as the phone gets engulfed by fire. A flame burns his leg and Peter grits his teeth, letting out a scream since no one can hear him and flips up, shoving himself through the small hole that led to the stairs just as the room explodes behind him. Peter falls down about one floor's worth, slamming into a rail hard.

"Ow," he groans and hangs there limp, a couple ribs broken. Already the whole building his tilting and Peter is sliding to the side. 

_"Massive structural failure Peter, you have to get out of there, now!"_

"Working on it Karen!" Peter groans, flipping back over the rail and jumping down to the landing. He turns and kicks open the door, stumbling into the hallway and crashing through the nearest wall to get to a clear office room. He hears a low rumbling from upstairs and a high pitched whistle.

"Oh crap," Peter swears, staggering forward. The stagger turns into a jog and that jog turns into a full force sprint as he floor caves in on him, the room catching on fire. Heat smothers the room and Peter jumps off desks, shooting a web to fling himself to the nearest window as the entire top floors cave. The whole ceiling of the room, meaning all the floor above 6 as well, explodes, collapsing on itself as Peter crashes through the window, flames clawing at his back. And soon the rest of the building crumples to the ground. 

Peter's falling through flames and debris, rubble smacking into him. All he feels is a sharp pain in his shoulder as he shoots a web and swings into a cloud of smoke, covering his head and tucking his legs to his chest.

Tony gets to his feet and staggers forward. There's a huge lump in his throat and he chokes out, "Peter?" He breaks into a jog, and then a sprint, and then fires up his boosters, diving into the ruined building, the rubble settled. He weaves in and out, flames and sparks still littering the walls. 

"PETER!" he yells. Nothing. "FRIDAY, track him-" 

_"Sir, I can't. His-"_

"I don't care! Find him!" Tony yells, firing up his thrusters as he scans the remains of the building. "Come on kid, where are you?"

"I've gotta get upstairs," he says firmly, weaving his way through collapsed ceilings to slowly ascend. "Sixth floor, he said sixth floor- he's gotta be there." He scans each level anyway just in case Peter got hurt on his way down when trying to get out, but there's no sign of him. Tony refuses to stop despite FRIDAY's constant warnings, reaching the stairway. "PETE! Talk to me kid, it's a big building, let me know where you are!"

"Peter!" he yells, the helmet receding to his neck as he spins in a circle. Smoke instantly coats his throat and Tony curses, waiting a few more seconds before he can't handle it anymore. He puts back on the helmet and takes a deep breath, coughing.

"FRIDAY, what floor are we on?" he croaks out. 

_"Fifth,"_ she reports. 

"Sixth is right there FRIDAY, he's right there-" Tony blasts himself up the stairs and finds the small opening into the main floor. He attempts to move it when suddenly fire engulfs his vision and he's blown backward, landing hard on his back on the landing.

 _"The entire floor is on fire Tony,"_ FRIDAY says sadly. 

"No- he could be in there-"

_"The building is coming down!"_

"I don't care!" Tony yells, staring back up the steps even as the stairs are breaking. 

_"Tony, STOP!"_

Tony hates himself and he lets out a yell of anger as he swerves out of the way, crashing through the wall that led outside. As flames explode, destroying the remainder of the building, Tony falls the rest of the levels, firing up his thrusters that sputter out to try and stop his fall. He hits the ground in the alleyway hard, staring at the building that's slowly crumbling before his eyes, engulfed in flames. 

He sits up and watches as it collapses to the ground. "No-" Tony whispers, the helmet receding to his neck. He's on his side, his back against the edge of the neighboring building as he stares in shock. His heart clenches and there's an awful pain in his stomach, a knot that just keeps getting tighter.

"FRIDAY-" he croaks before he shakes his head, sinking against the brick building behind him. "Pete..."

"Holy CRAP Tony, did you see that? You won't believe what just happened."

Tony looks to the side in shock and sees Peter drop down from a web, flipping to the ground with a huge grin. His suit’s covered in black smoke, he’s bleeding from a bunch of wounds, his mask off since he knew no one would be dumb enough to come by the burning building just yet and he’s limping from what looks like a massive burn on his leg. But he’s smiling. And he has no idea what Tony had just gone through for the past 5 minutes.

"I was on one of those top floors," Peter pointed with a grin, limping forward, "and I had to drop the ceiling since all my other exits were blocked. So I did and the entire place fell down and there were a bunch of flames and this new suit is _ridiculously_ intuitive by the way, which is just...awesome."

He walks over and sighs since Tony is still sitting on the ground. Peter rolls his eyes, almost annoyed and holds out a hand, grabbing Tony's arm and helping him up with a supportive grasp on his shoulder.

Tony had been staring at him in disbelief, his eyes gazing at Peter with such emotion it was a wonder the kid didn't pick up on it. Peter gulped down another breath and continued with excitement, waving his hands, "So then I swung through the building like I was in the freaking Death Star, and then I somehow got out, I swear I felt the building skim by back- I couldn't even see the smoke was so dark. By the way the Shocker's power? We definitely need to look at that in the lab because it doesn't-" 

Tony stepped forward and Peter took a small step back so he didn't hit Tony with his extravagant hand motions, not understanding why Tony was stepping forward. he shakes his head with a frown, scratching his head with his hand that's gripping his mask, "It doesn't add up- the physics is all wrong about it. What- what are you doing?"

Tony puts a hand on the kid's shoulder and pulls him forward, hugging Peter tightly. For a second the teen stands there in shock, but then his arms raise and he hugs him back, resting his chin on Tony's shoulder.

"You thought I didn't make it out, didn't you?" Peter said quietly. Tony doesn't have to answer, closing his eyes as he tightens his embrace.

"This is nice," Peter mumbles and Tony laughs, imagining the sarcastic smirk on Peter's face without even looking. He exhales shakily, gripping the kid's shoulder hard. 

It's a couple seconds later when Tony's finally ready to let go. He tightens his grip for one last second and then pulls away, a hand on Peter's shoulder, just making sure he's there, and alive, before he ruffles his hair, pushing him in the shoulder.

“Don’t do that again,” Tony demands.

Peter grins and then there’s a bunch of commotion behind them. The kid winces, craning his head to look at the big crowd of reporters and police over Tony’s shoulder. 

"I feel like skipping the whole press thing today," Tony admits. "Wanna head home?"

"Yeah," Peter grins. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Tony hovers in the air and Peter shoots a web, grinning as he flings himself forward, "Keep up."

"There was a supervillian and you didn't invite me?" Nat asked, laughing as she poured Peter a cup of coffee and then one for herself. She slid it across the table, "Don't tell Tony."

Peter grins and then laughs, "It was a little last minute."

"Yeah, no crap, you left before I even knew you both were gone," she said. "Got a little beat up I see. You need med bay?"

Peter shoots her a look, "Nat, I just had a 20 minute debate with Tony, please don't make me do it all over again. Yeah, we had some close calls, but this will be gone in a couple hours- nothing I can't handle."

Nat puts her hands up in surrender, "It's just cause he cares about you. We all do."

"I'm flattered," Peter rolls his eyes. 

"Doesn't mean I won't throw a book at you," Nat threatens. 

"Point taken," Peter laughs before he turns with excitement. "Did you see my new suit?"

"Yeah, it's all over the news kid," Nat laughs. "All of New York probably has by now."

Peter raises his eyebrows, "I'm famous."

Nat nods with a smirk, "How does it feel?"

"No different," Peter admits. Nat laughs and then Peter cocks his head, "Well the suit does feel a lot different. That's what Tony calls a minor upgrade apparently," Peter shakes his head in awe. 

"You deserved it kid. It was a gift that was overdue," Nat says. 

Peter looks down, "I- I'm not used to gifts."

"Well when's your birthday?" Nat asked. 

Peter winces and looks at her, "I don't know. May told me but I kinda forgot. When you didn't have one for 9 years and didn't remember it for the first 7, you kinda don't think of it as a big deal."

"Well we'll fix that Pete, I promise," Nat says. Peter smiles and takes a sip of his coffee. His hand is shaking and he discretely moves it to his lap, clenching his fist. "So you're getting better at controlling them and hiding them, but have they gotten better?" Nat asks, looking at her book.

Peter snaps his gaze up and stutters, "W-What?"

She looks up, "The panic attacks. The chills. The memories." She shrugs, "The red."

Peter winces and looks at his clenched hand, opening it and closing it around his knee. He asks, "Is it that obvious?"

"To someone who has gone through the same thing? No, actually, it's not. You're scary good at keeping it under wraps. But I took an educated guess."

"It hasn't been getting better," Peter confessed truthfully. "I still wake up with nightmares sometimes. I still can hear Hersh in my head, he's just not as loud. I can't forget it, but...I'm trying to push it down because that's all I can do. That's all I know how to do." Then he rubbed his neck and slowly admitted, "Saving those people today really helped."

"It will," she nodded. "But sometimes it won't. We can't save everyone. But it's our responsibility to try," Nat says quietly. She notices Peter's sad smile and slides her book against his arm, "What?"

Peter shakes his head, "Just something my uncle said. With great power, comes great responsibility."

"You're uncle was a smart man," Nat smiles. 

Peter nods, "Yes, yes he was." 

Pepper walked down the steps to the lab, hoping to find Tony there. Without looking, she opened the door and walked down the steps, her gaze flicking up for just a second to see a figure in the middle of the room with dark hair, surrounded by papers, flicking through some 3D screens.

"Tony, I need to know if-"

"Hi Pepper," Peter said sheepishly.

Pepper looked up and laughed, "Peter! I could have sworn you were Tony."

Peter snorted, "How?" Then he held up a snack bag forward as he slid some papers to the side, "Blueberry?"

Pepper suppressed a smile and shook her head, "I'm good, thanks. Are you ok, Peter?"

The teen looked up and grinned. "What, after the fight with the shocker?" He looks down at his leg and shrugs, "I've had worse, I'll be fine in a couple of hours."

Pepper raised an eyebrow, leaning against the wall, "Did you even get sleep?"

"I don't need sleep," Peter said, spinning a wrench on his finger- a tik that Pepper recognized from Tony. He looked around at the circle of paper that's scattered around him. "I just got off the phone with May. I'm trying to figure out how to finish decoding the last file in the computer," Peter scratched his head. "The trail led here and then went cold, seemingly, but I think this last bit holds the location."

"To..." Pepper urges. 

"To the last known HYDRA base. If we shut it down, we shut down HYDRA..hopefully. We found this one man, Elliot Kohl," Peter reached up and grabbed the 3D screen, stretching it and spinning one of the models they had crafted in his hand before flicking it back up to it's place. "We have his last known location, but we need to be sure he's not already dead or loosely connected. There's too many people loosely connected to HYDRA, so we're trying to focus on the heavy hitters."

Pepper watched as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the model, compared it to the blueprint of the paper he had, and grabbed the pen from behind his ear, marking a section on the paper. She pointed, "Is that the scanner you both have been using?"

Peter nods, rubbing his chin, "We modeled it after the HYDRA one, and then put in a few touch ups to extend it's scanning diameter. It reaches really, really far now, which is pretty cool." His other hand twirled the wrench between his fingers and he gnawed at his lip, popping a dried blueberry in his mouth. 

"You use all those smarts in school?" Pepper wondered, looking at him in awe as Peter easily maneuvered his way around Tony's tech like it was nothing.

Peter cocked his head, "The basic math yeah, but they don't teach us this stuff, all my science classes are boring." Pepper let out a light laugh and Peter grinned sheepishly, "What?" 

"You're a smart kid," she smiled. 

"Thanks," Peter smirked before he looked over his shoulder, "Hey DUM-E, pass me that tablet with the data we recovered. That's the one with the location files on it right?" The robot moved it's head up and down and lowered the tablet so Peter could grab it. "Thanks."

"Well I'll let you get back to it," she said with a wink. 

Peter grinned distractedly and then waved, "Thanks Pepper."

She walked out and heard Peter swear as she rounded the corner, "DUM-E I swear to God- Tony said I could take away your fire extinguisher privileges. Put that down, it's worth more than you or me."

She shook her head with a laugh and walked down the hallway.

Tony scoffs at a text from Pepper that says: _Peter is a carbon copy of you._ He's about to text back when a rather annoyed voice calls him out, "Mr. Stark?"

He looks up, clicking his phone off, "Yes dear?"

"Can I have your attention?" the Senator asks dryly, shooting him a look. He's a hologram, they all are, except for Rhodey who is sitting next to him. 

"Absolutely. 90% of it. The 10% maintains my sanity, if you were wondering," he nods, folding his hands in front of him. 

"Despite General Ross' accident a month ago-"

"Oh the accident where he broke into my compound, knocked me unconscious, attempted to kill me, abused a minor, lied to the Avengers, and destroyed half of my house? Got it," Tony nodded, crossing his arms. 

"Despite those events-"

"I'm sorry, am I just supposed to push them aside?" Tony asked furiously. 

"Mr. Stark-"

"I feel like we're over complicating a very simple sequence of events. He broke into my house, he and his men physically shot at and attempted to kill the very few people that you rely on to protect the Earth, and you're siding with him?" Tony asked. "Even after a month of discussing it? A two year old could understand it better. No offense."

"We believe that his belief that the Avengers need to have some sort of boundaries was rightly voiced," Stern said. 

"Rightly voiced-" Tony scoffed. 

Rhodey put a hand on his arm, "Sir, if that's your standing, then enlighten us. What do you want us to do?"

"We need to regulate who comes into the Avengers. All operations need to be supervised by one of the board's members."

Tony crossed his arms, "This is after the HYDRA base, isn't it? We don't need to be supervised. We are not your lab rats, we're the people who save your sorry little-"

"What Tony is trying to say," Rhodey cuts in, "is that it's not your authority to regulate what we do and then expect us to help you when it comes down to it."

"Mr. Nice keeps interrupting me, but I'll just tell you right now, let us do our darn jobs," Tony hissed. 

The Senator looked down and clasped his hands, "The Avengers are dangerous. For a good reason. You all are our plan of defense, and offense, but that does not mean that you pose no threat to the public." At Tony's furious gaze he continued. "Stark, do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon," Tony countered. 

"The Iron Man weapon," Stern sighed. 

Tony actually laughed, "Name one person who refers to my suit as the Iron Man weapon. It is not a weapon. It's high-tech prosthesis. That’s actually the most apt description I can make of it. Like I've said in previous confrontations, you want my property, you can't have it. I'm sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable talking to a billionaire who has saved New York and the world on multiple occasions, but that doesn't mean you can throw a tissy fit whenever you're robbed of the prize podium." 

Tony slammed his hands on the table, "I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. And it is not a weapon. You call me Earth's greatest defender for a reason. FRIDAY, what's the definition of a defender?"

_"Defender. Noun. A person who defends someone or something."_

"Ok, we talked about this, not using the same word in the same sentence," Tony sighed. 

_"A person who resists an attack made on someone or something; to protect from harm or danger."_

"There we go," Tony snapped. "Protect from harm and danger. Which is what I do, what the team does. Now, if you have a problem with that, or with us, you tell us directly. But until then, let us do our job. And if any one of you decides to come breaking into my building, it will not end well for you, just as it didn't end well for General Ross."

Senator Stern grins cockily, "Is that a threat Stark?"

Tony laughs, "Funny. Ross said the same thing. So I'll tell you the same thing I told him. It's a promise."

Suddenly the door bursts open and Peter bursts in, his shirt smoking, breathing hard. Tony spins in his chair, facing him in concern. "What happened to you?"

"I tried to reroute the server. I did it, but one of the HYDRA parts were fried," Peter sighed, running a hand through his curly hair. 

"You didn't connect the central paneling to limit the electricity flow first?" Tony asked. 

Peter gave him a look, "Of course I did. I'm telling you the part is completely busted."

"Stark," Stern said angrily, who had been watching in disbelief, murmuring to the other members that some kid just decided to interrupt their meeting without a care in the world. 

Peter looks over Tony's shoulder and he raises an eyebrow, "You having a meeting?"

"Just give me one second Stern, can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" Tony puts up a hand. "Well is my lab blown up?"

"No," Peter laughs, scratching his head. "But the part is dead, we'll need to build another one."

"And how far complete is the tracking signal? We could probably finish it by tomorrow and then hook it up to the enforcer."

Peter makes a face as if trying to recall, "67?"

Tony shrugs, "Good enough. We can-"

"Stark!" Stern yells, louder this time.

"Did you just interrupt him?" Peter demands, glaring at Stein.

"It's ok, he does it all the time. Rude, right?" Tony shakes his head in annoyance and looks up at Peter in a sigh, "Ok, give me one second with these guys, they're driving me insane."

"They look snooty," Peter whispers to him. "And that dude's tie is ugly."

"He said he likes your tie," Tony calls even though the man clearly heard what the kid really said. Peter snickers and Tony punches him lightly in the arm. "I'll be out in a second." Peter nods, shooting one last dirty look at Stern before he walks out. 

Rhodey is sitting there, trying not to laugh, remembering that Peter spent 9 years thinking of one liners and talking back. That kid had no fear and it showed. He covers his mouth with his hand discretely and looks down to hide his eyes that reveal his laughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!! I thought it had some good moments :) Next one may be a little late just cuz the rest of my week is alhefgeoifehofew ya know? But I will get it out ASAP i promise. Let me know what you thought! I love hearing from you guys <3 it makes my day and the support has been amazing.  
> NEXT CHAPTER...we're in the home stretch. Have you ever been to Germany? :)  
> I love you all 3000


	18. Ever Been To Germany?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM BACK BABYYYYYYYYYYYY HELLOOOOO <3 <3  
> When I warned you life would rear it's ugly head and this chapter would take a while I DID NOT EXPECT IT TO BE THIS LONG. But here we are so I greatly apologize. But I hope it was worth the wait! How are yall doinggg I missed you guys and oh my gosh I missed writing. Good thing is I have a bit of the next one done! So that's a head start for me. Hopefully I can back in the groove- this past week was just so hectic ahhhhhhhh  
> ANYWAY, I love you all, again I am so sorry for the wait and I really really hope you like it. Return of an old character, some action, some Peter and Ned friendship and some good old fashioned Tony and Peter content. Also! Steve and Tony, because I'm being nice to Steve in this one (and for those of you who have read some of my past ones, you know that's a rarity) Thank you guys for sticking with this and thank you so much for the support, it honestly means the world <3  
> I hope yall have been doing well and I can't wait to get back into the 4-5 day chapter posting that's my goal <3  
> Please tell me whatcha think and enjoy! I had fun with this one.

Tony came down to the lab a little while after the incident with the Board and found Peter in the back, getting things under control. The part Peter had talked about was indeed busted, it had fried due to the fact that the techs down in HYDRA knew nothing about the things they were building and using. 

Tony grinned as he strolled in, nodding to Peter, "Thanks for keeping my lab in one piece."

"Yeah, wasn't easy," Peter grumbled, wiping off his hands and moving the remaining working parts to the side. "But DUM-E finally got to use the fire extinguisher, so I think that made his entire week."

Tony went over to DUM-E and rubbed his side, "Good boy. So what are we looking at?"

"Compressor still works. When this one started sparking I cut off the energy on the central side-" Peter explained. "So the surge powered it down and I could disconnect it. The flow was fine, it was the part that ruined it. Too old and too crappy."

"Well we have a lot of crap in here, we'll just add it to the pile," Tony motioned over his shoulder.

"We can rebuild this right?" Peter said firmly. Tony knew the kid understood how serious it was in finishing the project that could lead them to HYDRA. It was more of a personal mission to Peter than anyone else on the team, even Bucky admitted that, and that kid was dedicated to fixing and building everything he could to make it possible.

"I think we can manage. We’re both sort of smart,” Tony winked. 

Peter laughed and nodded, “Something like that.”

Tony walked over and slid to the floor next to Peter, pulling over a 3D screen and showing it to him. “Tell me what you think.”

Peter stared at it for a second, his eyes scanning it, “Well...the signal strength is pretty much leveled out. Our numbers aren’t doing too bad though, which I'm kinda surprised about."

"Don't worry about the rewiring. Compressor will fix that hopefully and if it doesn't we can just substitute the source. And...the surge should be big enough to crack the last file."

Peter nodded, pointing to a screen, "I’m having FRIDAY hack through the final firewall.”

“Good,” Tony clapped his hands. “What’s the percentage?”

“89 now,” Peter read, craning his neck. 

Tony nodded and got up from the floor, using Peter's shoulder who whacked him off. "Easy, I'm an old man."

"Shut up," Peter scoffed before his head slowly turned and he looked at Tony nervously. 

"You have a question," Tony said, leaning against the lab bench. 

"How do you know if I have a question-" Peter screwed his face up.

Tony pointed, "That's your I have a question face."

"It is not," Peter protested, changing his expression. 

"Do you have a question?" Tony countered.

Peter hesitated, "Y-yes but- no- see- I don't have a- no."

Tony grinned and then grabbed 2 packs of dried blueberries and tossed one to Peter, "Ask away."

Peter caught it without even moving his glance and his hands fell to his lap, his body language sobering the joking mood they were just in. “So when we find this guy,” Peter said slowly. “What…”

“What are we gonna do with him?” Tony asked, finishing his thought. 

Peter looked up, “Yeah. With Elliot Kohl.” 

“Ask him some questions. Don’t believe what people say, I can be mean,” Tony assured him with a wink. Peter laughed but it wasn't entirely genuine. The kid wrung his hands and Tony caught his eye. "I did some research on the dude, on some...illegal databases. He was one of the main links to the last known branch of HYDRA. He ran a bunch of operations and he's been in the same line as the men that Cap fought back before he got turned into an ice cube. This dude is serious. So if we catch him, we have a high chance of ending this Peter. We're close. Very close."

"So if we find his last known location..." Peter urged.

"FRIDAY and I have been developing our own modifications for a facial recognition software. If he's anywhere with technology, we'll see him," Tony nodded.

 _"That is correct,"_ FRIDAY chimed in. 

"And if he's not?" Peter asked.

"Then that narrows it down because it probably means he's at a HYDRA base anyway, which we will have blueprints of by the time everything's done and we get the location. We'll know everything about the base before we crash their party."

Then Tony shrugged, “The Board has some...suggestions we're not taking into account. We already took jurisdiction over this entire thing. They want us to do things differently, in fact they ordered me to do things differently."

"What did you say?" Peter questioned.

Tony smirked, "I said no. They don't think Kohl is the person to go after. They want a more indirect approach but I disagree. We gotta get to the bottom of HYDRA and Kohl will help us get there. By any measures necessary. And then he'll go on trial for what he’s been involved with."

Peter froze and looked up, spluttering, "Trial? Tony if we find him alive the good thing would be to kill him on the spot. You know what he did! He deserves to die! He doesn't deserve a trial.”

“I know he doesn't, but that’s not how our world works, Peter. Even if someone is clearly guilty, there’s still his right to a trial. Everyone has that right and that I can't change, nor do I want to. I'm all for breaking the rules, you know that kid, but some rules aren't meant to be broken," Tony said firmly.

“Like the robbers,” Peter nodded sadly. 

“Exactly,” Tony said gently. “He won’t get away with what he did. He will be brought to justice, I promise. That’s what we do. We take down the bad guys.”

“Just…..” there was a nervous look in Peter’s eyes, and he shook his head slowly. “You don’t know HYDRA like I do. They will stop at nothing. They will find more people to torture, to kill, to do things I will never talk about with anyone. Even stuff you don't know about Tony, and I will never tell you because I simply don't want you ever knowing. Those people you found, the trail that went cold, that was nothing compared to what they did, to how many people they hurt. They need to stopped."

"I know kid," Tony said softly.

Peter scoffed angrily, "No- no, you- you don't! You didn't hear their screams in the cells next to you, you weren't dragged down the hall- you didn't see what I did- or just witness what they did to people." He should his head furiously and Tony saw the kid's hands shaking. "They are evil and relentless they have no heart and no soul. Practically unkillable. They will not stop."

"Peter," Tony said quietly, kneeling down my Peter's side. 

The kid was dead serious as he gripped Tony's sleeve, his eyes wide. "You don't get it Tony. If one person is still breathing, if we miss one person, just one- they will find a way to come back, and when they do, they will come back stronger because that's what they do. They'll go for more people, they will destroy more lives, ruin families- i don't want that to happen to anyone else. Please- we can't let it happen to anyone else." 

The kid's voice was broken and his eyes were filled with anger and fear. Tony nodded firmly, "Peter, hey. We're gonna put a stop to this, I promise."

"Nobody else," he said lowly, fury in his tone. 

"Nobody else," Tony agreed.

Peter's hand loosened from Tony's sleeve and he took a deep breath and nodded, running his hands through his hair. "Sorry. I'm good now."

Tony knew he wasn't. He hated they couldn't just wipe the slate clean, change his expression with a flick of a switch. The things that HYDRA did will forever take a toll on Peter and Tony knew he'd never be able to truly forget it. He patted the teen on the shoulder and his tension eased as Tony nodded his head, "Let's get some work done to get that scanner up."

**2 Days Later**

Peter swung down, weaving around the buildings. It was free period for him, it had just started. He had spent the last block in the lab with Ned, hacking into a police radio scanner and it had worked. So while Peter glitched the security cameras, Ned was look out so Peter could slip through the window and hop down to the grass, sprinting down the street into the nearest alley. 

He slipped on the suit and texted Ned who was more than happy to help while he was bored to death by their history teacher's lectures. Peter was facetiming him, Ned in the back of the classroom with his computer pulled up, tracking Peter's phone and tuning into police broadcasts.

"There, there, stop. Karen, turn it up."

"Who's Karen?"

"My A.I.," Peter said dismissively. 

"You have an A.I.?" Ned marveled. "Cool."

_“Attention all available units, we have an officer down, EMT down as well-”_

“What street, what street?” Peter hissed to himself, shoving his clothes into his backpack and webbing it to the wall. He climbed up, sprinting along the roof and jumping down, allowing himself to freefall.

_“The suspects have broken into a jewelry store. Only hostages are one officer and an EMT. Car blockade on entering side of target zone so you most proceed on foot... Rockaway Boulevard..."_

“I’m close!” Peter said, flipping midair and turning around, causing a rough yank on his arm. He flung himself forward and dove down a bit to get more momentum. A few people snapped photos and waved, which Peter was slowly getting used to.

The other day he had saved 2 little kids from getting hit by a car. The one boy had asked if Peter could come to his party since apparently he wanted to be Spiderman when he grew up. Another time people stopped him for a selfie. He had also helped someone with their crossword, and gotten a churo in return. Little neighborhood things were welcoming to Peter and enjoyed doing the small jobs for people. It made him feel special, like he was helping people and changing lives even when nothing terribly wrong is happening. 

Peter swung down into traffic as he turned the corner and lifted up his feet, skimming the top of the car. He threw himself into the air, flipping and shooting a web that stuck to the top of the building. Holding with both hands and landed on the roof of the building, scaring the crap out of some pigeons. Peter quickly scrambled to his feet and picked up a run again, sprinting over the edge. He jumped off in a swing, seeing the cop cars below him, their blue and red sirens glaringly blight, their sounds screeches as cars parted to let them by.

Peter lowered himself so that he could reach and touch the cars, expertly swinging between them. He got so close he waved at one of the officers in the passenger seat of the car. 

“Hey guys, nice to see ya,” he called. The man grinned and laughed.

"Beat you there Spiderman," the other called. One of the cars honked. Peter grinned and swung past them happily. The feud between him and the police was slowly but surly disappearing. They understood he was here to help, and he had proven himself on many occasions- the Shocker especially. Also it helped that most of the cops had young boys that loved him. It was weird how many people were falling in love with Peter's secret identity. He saw the admiration at school too, even Flash was a huge fan. It was just pure irony and Peter honestly didn't know what to think of it. 

Due to the lack of traffic and the disregard of roads, Peter got to the scene first. He landed on the nearest lamp post closest to the jewelry store, making sure he was being quiet, at least before the cops got here. He surveyed the damage and winced; a car had been run right through the front door, shattering the glass windows, it's back end sticking out. Smoke filled the air and Peter coughed, feeling it coat his lungs for just a second. He hoped to web all this up before the police took over.

Getting into a crouch, Peter aimed and shot the nearest roof, hitting his mark. With a smile, he jumped, reaching it quietly and moving on the tops of his toes and his fingers as he neared the site. 

"Hey Karen pull up a heat scan view of the place. How many people am I lookin at?" he asked. 

_"I'm reading 2 in center room- armed, one across the room also armed, and another bent down, armed, probably stashing cash. The 2 hostages are in the center,"_ FRIDAY relayed, the screen popping up in his display. 

"I wonder what they're saying?" he said slowly, crawling across the side of the building.

Karen suddenly speaks up, _"Do you want to hear what they're saying?"_

"I can hear what they’re saying?" Peter scoffed; that wasn't a question. He nodded fimly. "Uh, yeah."

_"Activating Enhanced Reconnaissance Mode."_

"That's awesome."

Peter nodded to himself before realizing he had thought that but had not said it out loud. A facetime call popped up on his screen and Peter realized he had never hung up with Ned. "Hey what are you doing?"

"Calculus," Ned replied. "I never finished the homework."

"You should have done it with me instead of flirting with Betty," Peter snorted. 

Ned made a face, looking down to hide his red cheeks, "I was not-"

"Oh yes you were. 100 percent," Peter laughed. 

"Ok well you like MJ!" Ned hissed. 

Peter glared at him, "I do not like- shut up- I have to go anyway."

"Don't die. MJ would be very upset-" Ned hooted quietly before Peter hung up on him. "Karen, how's it coming with the reconnaissance mode?"

There was a first voice memo bar that popped up in his mask and a voice spoke in corresponding with the raised wavelengths it showed. _"Hurry up man, the cops of here. I told you we should have taken care of the alarm."_

 _"I don't want to go to jail man,"_ said a second voice, creating another attachment.

 _"That's the least of your worries. The police aren't here yet. Come on, we're almost done,"_ one snarled- a third voice recording bar popped up. 

He spotted three men, all armed, and peaked around the car to get a look at the hostages. It took a while before he directly saw them because they were leaning against the table- slumped more accurately. At least the policeman was. The officer was limp against the nearest table he could fall against, bleeding profusely. Peter almost winced; he hated seeing people in pain except for himself.

The EMT didn't look too hurt. He was crouched over the other man, holding his jacket to the officer's head. When he turned to look around, Peter's eyes widened and then narrowed. His heart stopped and he whispered, "Oh my God..."

_A man crouched next to him grabbed Peter's shoulders roughly, yanking him towards him, "Hey, kid, look at me. Look at me!"_

_"We're losing him. He's barley got a pulse-" one of the men calls, hovering over Ben._

_"They're helping him, they're trying to help him," the man holding Peter hisses. "You gotta let go kid."_

_He was referring to Peter's fist that was curled around Ben's jacket. Peter slowly obeyed, his fingers uncurling as they fell to the side. The man turned him, and he tore his gaze away from his uncle to look the EMT in the eyes. There's commotion behind him and the shuffling makes Peter wince._

_"What's your name?" the man asked. It wasn't out of pity; it was a genuine question._

_"Peter," Peter said, stuttering, trying to turn around again to see what was going on, "That's- that's my uncle."_

_"Peter," the man repeated, "I'm Keith. I'm gonna get you out of here ok?"_

“Keith…” Peter said softly, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and focus.

He needed to work fast. The matter had just become more personal. He looked once around him outside and winced as his gaze shifted down the street. There was a car crash on the left side, blocking access to the jewelry store by any vehicle. And it had clearly been planned. Peter's expression darkened at that and he shook his head in disbelief of their precision. “They’re organized. They planned this- they knew the police shifts. Karen is the area clear? Check for a running car. There's gotta be one around back.”

 _“Area will be clear in one minute and seven seconds. Getaway car is behind the store as you suspected,"_ she reported.

Peter nodded, getting to his feet and starting to the back, “Ok, I should cut off their escape. I gotta take care of that first.”

_“Why don't you use the reconnaissance drone?”_

Peter scoffed, “Because we don't have a- what?" There's suddenly a small pop from the middle of his suit and the small spider lifts out, hovering right by his head. Peter's jaw drops under the mask and he laughs in delight. "Whoa, has that been there the whole time? That’s awesome!"

The spider drone flies away around the corner and Peter puts a hand to his ear as Karen asks, _"How do you want me to handle the car?"_

"Nothing too big or loud, they still don't know I'm here. Pop the tires or something," he suggested. 

A minute later the drone is back and the small spider's legs fold in as it clicks back into place as an emblem on his chest. Karen reports, _"Getaway car taken care of."_

Peter shakes his head, "Tony really outdid himself. Ok, so they're ties are cut, time to crash the party." Peter bends his knees and flips off the side of the building swinging forward and planting his feet right in the center of the one man's chest. He webs his mouth as he falls and tackles him behind a counter, webbing his arms to the ground and knocking him out.

"Hey, just wanted to swing in," Peter says sarcastically. He freezes as the other guard calls on his buddy to check it out.

"Karen hack into the security cameras here and pull up the one in the left corner," Peter hisses.

_“I can arrange that except for the no touch protocol.”_

"Uh, who put that on there?" Peter demanded. 

_"Tony Stark, sir."_

"We're gonna need to have a talk after this," he said firmly, shaking his head. "No touch protocol...Disable it!” 

_"I can't."_

"You- you can't?"

 _"I do not have the liberty too,"_ Karen rephrases. 

Peter curses and crawls behind a counter, sliding into the back room. "Ned! Ned, answer gosh darn it."

His friend's annoyed but smug face pops up on the corner of Peter's display. "Oh, now you need my help?"

"Shut up and listen to me, I need you to hack into my suit from this connection and disable a protocol," Peter whispers, peaking into the main room. 

"You want me...to hack into Tony Stark's suit...that he made...for you?" Ned rephrases quietly. 

"You better not be in class," Peter swears. 

"Don't worry I'm in the library. Mrs. Frankie is here, but I don't think she cares." He looks up, "I'm gonna light my hair on fire." After a second he looks down, "Yeah, we're good."

"Ok, hack the suit then," Peter says urgently. 

Ned sighs and starts typing before he snickers, "No touch protocol. Sounds like for a 5 year old."

"I know," Peter grumbles. 

"It gets better. Baby monitor protocol? Training wheels protocol? There's a whole list of them."

Peter screws his face up into a frown. "Whatever. I'll deal with that later. Just hack into the one I said and shut it down."

"Fine," Ned says, typing some more. He then announces, "Should be good."

"Thanks man," Peter says quickly before crossing his fingers. "Karen?" he hopes.

 _"Getting access to security cameras,"_ Karen alerts him. A small bar turns green and a security camera pulls up. Peter scrolls through them until he can see himself and the man approaching from the other side of the cabinet. He crawls around the side when the man looks away, shooting a web and slingshoting himself forward as the man turns the corner where he once was. 

Peter jumps to the ceiling and crawls along it, around the corner to the man stuffing jewelry in the black duffel bag. The man's comms crackle and he stops what he's doing, clicks a button, and holds it up to his ear, "What is it?"

Karen intercepts the transmission that's shaky but clear. _"We have someone inside. I'm checking the back room. Stay alert. Watch your 6."_

"Alright man," he says, going faster with the jewlrey. 

Peter's lowers right behind him silently. "You know first off I think you have a serious career ahead of you in bagging goods at supermarkets. Second, he was right," Peter flipped him over his shoulder before he could even yell, and then expertly webbed him and yanked forward, slamming him into the ground. The man's head lolled to his side, his eyes rolled up in his head. Peter then crushed the walkietalkie and stood, looking down. "You should have watched your six."

Peter's hairs stood up on his arm and he heard someone approaching him from around the corner. One of the guns lay vacant on the floor and it caught Peter's eye. He checked a secuirty camera saw a man walking towards him, faced away fortunately. Peter grabbed a piece of glass from the floor and chucked it to the left. It hit the wall and shattered and Peter watched as the man's head snapped over and he slowly moved forward, gun pointed. 

"Stay there," he demanded to the last criminal.

Peter snagged the gun and swung down the other direction. He looped around until he was directly behind the hostages and then he creeped up. 

"He needs a doctor!" Keith pleaded firmly with the man holding them both at gunpoint. "The bleeding won't stop."

"One more word and _you'll_ be needing the doctor," the man snarled, shoving the muzzle of his gun in his chest. Peter glared and tensed, gripping the gun. 

"Look, please- if I could just get a first aid kit even!" Keith attempted, only to be hit across the face by the butt of the gun the man was holding. Peter had had enough and he lunged out, whipping the gun around to catch the man in the jaw and yanking his weapon from his hands. Peter flipped and kicked him the chest before bringing a final kick down on his neck. He webbed both of his hands to the ground and then kicked him down gun into forehead, knocking him out instantly. 

The other man looked up and Peter jumped to the ceiling, avoiding a shot and yelled, "STAY DOWN!" He swung forward, tucking and rolling, knocking the gun from the man's hand and kicking him in the stomach. The man went staggering back and Peter punched him across the face before webbing him in the gut and yanking his end, slamming the man into the ground.

Peter picked up the gun and hurriedly rushed over to Keith who now had a nasty gash on his face. 

"You ok?" he asked. 

"It's him I'm worried about," Keith said, disregarding his question. 

"How's he looking?" Peter asked. 

"Minor fracture to the skull. Internal bleeding. He needs a hospital in under 12 minutes or he might not make it," Keith said miserably. 

Peter nodded firmly, "Ok, ok, look there's one more guy in the back, I'm gonna get him. You take this and if anybody comes your way you pull the trigger. They will not hesitate to shoot you, do you understand?"

"Yes," Keith said, taking the gun. "Go."

Peter nodded and got to his feet, looping back around the front, hopping over the smoking car. He looked left and jumped to the side. The man he had webbed to the ground pulled the trigger of a gun he somehow reached. That shot hit the car mirror next to him and it fell off. Peter immediately webbed the gun and caught it midair, struggling, "Lucky for me, you're a bad shot. Now, where's the last baddie?"

_"Heading toward you. Back room. Armed. 200 meters."_

Peter jumped off the wall as the man came in, his gun loosely held. Peter surged forward and the man swung with a fist that was clutching a diamond necklace. Peter dodged, effortlessly catching his arm. "Woah, who's that for? Your girlfriend?" 

The man fired a sloppy shot and Peter avoided the bullet, sliding to the floor and sweeping his legs out from under him. 

_"Would you like me to initiate Enhanced Combat Mode?"_ Karen asked. 

Peter gave the man time to get up and narrowed his eyes, "Advanced Combat Mode? What's that- sure, sure, put that on."

_"Activating Instant Kill."_

Peter recoiled, almost falling on his face, "Why- wait- no- nonono. I don't wanna kill anybody-"

_"Deactivating Instant Ki-"_

Peter's head whipped to the side as he was punched across the face. He cursed, stumbling, before ducking the next punch. "Karen, we gotta have a conversation on your timing of conversations."

_"I understand. Analyzing his fight pattern. Slide under, you have the opportunity."_

Peter admitted he did and so he dropped to the ground under the man's legs. flipped up, and kicked him in the back, sending him crashing into the nearest counter. He webbed his arm and kicked the man's side, spinning him in the web as he fell to the floor. 

"Anyone else?"

_"One man, 400 meters, barely conscious."_

"I don't have time to worry about him. We have that man to get out," Peter said. He ran back to Keith who lowered his gun when he saw it was Peter. "We're clear. Let's move."

"I have a busted ankle. Go, get him out of here," he demanded. "Just come back. It's not like I'll go anywhere."

Peter frowned, "Well I'm not just gonna leave you alone."

"That's exactly what you're gonna do Spiderman," he said firmly and Peter cursed, bending down to loop an arm around the officer's shoulders and heave him up, keeping his head steady. He carried him out of the building, past the car and screamed, "AMBULANCE! WE NEED AN AMBULANCE!"

The police had just about gotten through and one ran up to take their fellow officer, "What happened?"

"Not sure!" Peter responded. "The EMT says he has internal bleeding and his head is gushing blood. He has under 10 minutes!"

"And where's the EMT?" the man demanded in urgency. 

"Inside," Peter was already running back in. He swerved around the car and jumped through the shattered glass, seeing Keith still up against the wall in the back of the room. He now noticed his foot was twisted at the wrong angle and Peter cringed.

"I need to- snap it back," Keith said through gritted teeth, "if I walk on it it's just gonna make it worse."

"Ok- ok, what do you need me to do?" Peter knelt my his side.

"I'm gonna tell you when and I want you to twist, ok?" he asked weakly, looking up at Peter for confirmation. 

"Ok, ok, ok, ready?" Peter nodded and gripped his ankle tightly.

"Go," Keith said, twisting his body. Peter rightened the foot with a loud snap and Keith let out a pain filled yell that made Peter flinch. The man punched the wall, blooding his knuckles, breathing hard.

"Better?" Peter asked nervously. 

"Well it's facing the right way, thanks man," Keith grinned weakly. 

Peter chuckled, "Alright, come on, I gotta get you out of here," he said, offering him his hand and grabbing a fist full of his sleeve. 

"Thanks," Keith said wincing as he took it, using the wall to stand up before leaning against Peter who offered his support. He looped his arm around Keith's shoulder like he had done for the officer and started staggering forward. 

"You good?" he asked Keith, holding him up. "I got you buddy."

"They just came at him, hit him across the head- it's a wonder he survived- we had been called before hand for some medical emergency- bad timing on the robbers part. But when they saw the guns...my team got out," he winced, "but I couldn't just leave him-"

"You did the right thing Keith," Peter said firmly, starting forward, going around the massive glass shatter and avoiding the car that was crashed into the store. 

"How- how did you know my name?" Keith coughed out. 

Peter paled and quickly covered his blunder, "They told me outside- when I got the officer out."

"Oh," Keith nodded. 

Peter suddenly tensed and he stopped, turning to the side, his hairs on his arm standing up. "Wait," he said, turning around and putting himself in front of Keith. 

_"Movement straight in front of you,"_ Karen warned. 

"I see him," Peter said nervously. Peter's eyes darted towards the man who limped to a stop straight across from them on the other side of the store. There was no gun in his hand that Peter could see, and he was walking with a limp, beaten up from Peter's fight with him mere minutes before. One hand held his back from where Peter had flipped him.

"Buddy, you can end this without any more bruises," Peter said fiercely. It was a warning and Peter maintained his composure, his grip on Keith tensing, monitoring his enemy's movements. "Or I can come over there and kick your-"

"This isn't about the bruises Spiderman," he spit in a raspy voice, limping forward, blood trickling down his cheek, swaying from the recent loss of conciousness. "It's about the job. We always finish the job." 

He brought his hand out from behind his back and Peter saw what he was holding. His eyes widened and he shoved Keith down hard, behind a wall of counters before he ran forward to tackle the man.

"No- WAIT!" Peter screamed. 

He was too late. 

The blast went off, a white light slamming into Peter, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying into the far wall with a sickening crunch. His head hit the stone and he went limp, the store catching on fire. The fire alarms started going off, sprinklers raining down on him, rain trickling down the side of his face. His ears were ringing and Peter sat up, gritting his teeth in pain. 

His display was glitching and Karen's voice seemed underwater. He looked down and saw his suit was torn, strips of the red fabric peeled off. He was covered in glass. Peter groaned and tried to sit up and his back screamed in pain. But when he reached up, that's when the horror kicked in. Half of his mask was ripped and Peter's breathing sped up in fear. He looked across the store and didn't see his enemy, which meant something Peter didn't want to think about. He guessed that was good thing. Back in HYDRA, he was relieved to see a man dead. He guessed things had changed. 

His vision was swimming and his throat closed up as he desperately tried to breathe. Come on Peter, snap out of it. He closed his eyes adn blinked, gasping, only to spit out blood. He moved his hands to try and pull down his mask to cover the ripped part but then he couldn't see and it started to slide off completely which gave him a panic attack.

"Spiderman!" Keith yelled from around the corner. There was commotion and Peter's adrenaline kicked in due to the realization that someone could see him without the mask. He couldn't risk that- he couldn't. 

Peter desperately tried to scramble away but as he tried to he screamed in pain at the sharp pain that drove up his side. He spun back around, reliving the pressure and found he was pinned under the collapsed wall. Peter quickly put his hands under and strained but not before Keith stumbled in, seemingly unhurt; Peter had saved his life by pushing him aside. 

"Spiderman are you ok?" Keith coughed, still not looking up, limping with his head down because of his ankle and the smoke. 

Debris still rained down lightly around him as Peter's heartbeat sped, anxiety and panic kicking in to the point where he couldn't breath. Don't see me, he pleaded, don't see me. His hands kept slipping on the awkward grip he was forced to pull so he finally grabbed a pole and shoved it under, slamming it down hard in between the gap. The wedge worked and Peter slipped out, coughing from the smoke that coated his throat now that his ventilation system was ruined in his mask. He staggered out, slamming into the wall but not before Keith staggered in and caught his eye. 

"We need to-" 

Peter was limp against the wall, bloody and terrified. He froze.

Keith's expression went slack, then shock, then confusion, then finally disbelief. "I know you."

Peter didn't saw anything. His eyes were wide and scared.

"I know you," Keith repeated weakly, before he saw realization kick in as the man stuttered, "You're that kid- Peter. Peter? Parker- Peter Parker. Your uncle..."

"Yeah..." Peter shushed him, "I-" His vision tunneled and Peter's legs buckled. His sight flashed white as hot pain went down the back of his spine. His chest stung and it hurt to talk because of his split lip. He grabbed the wall and Keith quickly surged forward and grabbed him by his arms. 

"Hey kid, stay with me," he demanded. 

"Don't- don't tell anyone- you're not supposed to know- I have to go-" Peter said weakly and miserably, pushing away but knowing full well with a swimming vision and a chest that was practically raked raw that he was in no condition to stand. 

Keith leaned him against the wall in shock and steadied him, "Spid- Peter- you saved my life. Twice. You don't need to worry about..." he rephrased it firmly, and Peter believed him. "I'm not telling anyone. It's not my place. It's just...you're a kid. You're just a kid." 

"I'm not a kid," Peter said angrily. 

Keith put up his hands, "I-I know but...Peter..."

Peter looked up at him and nodded, "Yeah. Ha. Well. Surprise." 

"Come on, I gotta get you to an ambulance-" Keith said, trying to get Peter to loop his arm around his shoulder but he shook him off. 

Peter violently shook his head, his eyes going wide, "No- no- _no_ ambulance. I'll be fine."

"Kid, how old are you?" Keith demanded. 

Peter winced, "16?" Fury was well masked on the man's face but he knew it was there. Peter repeated in assurance, "I'll be fine. I just need a second. This is what I do." Keith stared at him in shock and finally nodded. Peter pointed, "This is what we're gonna do, ok? You go out the front, say I needed to get out of here and was happy to help. I'll slip out the back."

Keith didn't like it but he knew Peter wouldn't budge on his decision, "Are you gonna be ok?"

"I'm Spiderman," Peter grinned weakly, holding his side.

Keith chuckles, shaking his head, "Yea...yeah you are. Take care kid. And Peter...thank you," he says sincerely. 

Peter smiles and salutes before he makes his way towards the back door. "Karen, destroy all security footage."

_"Will do."_

Peter shoves through the back door, an alarm going off and he groans, looking up at the opposite brick wall that looks intimidating even though it's not even that tall. Putting a hand on the stone, he winces, and starts to climb. Gritting his teeth with every reach, pulled himself up with effort, flopping down on his back on the far side of the neighboring roof. 

"Karen?" he said breathlessly. 

_"Already calling him,"_ she said gently. 

Tony answers the call with a confused but happy tone, _"Hey kid. Aren’t you supposed to be at school for another hour?”_

It hurt to breathe. Peter gathered enough air to let out a nervous laugh and gasp, “Free period- I got a little sidetracked.” 

Tony stopped. Then he said, _"Where are you?"_

Peter turned his head and groaned, blinking from the sunlight, "Next to a jewelry store on Rockaway Boulevard." 

_"Why are you there?"_ Tony demanded. 

"Robbed," Peter made out. 

_"You got robbed?"_ Tony asked. 

"No," Peter said, licking his lips, holding his side as he stared at the sky, "the jewelry store got robbed. I had to stop it. I stopped it."

 _"For the love of God- you're not bleeding out on me, are you?"_ Tony said, trying to mask his concern. _"I don't want to have to clean anything up."_

Peter squinted and checked himself over, "Hard to say."

_"Give me 30 seconds, ok Pete?"_

"Yep," Peter said weakly, his eyes squeezed shut. He looked down at his chest, wincing at the sharp pain from every piece of glass that was stuck inside. He started picking it out one by one, his hands shaking, his nails covered in blood, the suit ripped. "I'll fix the suit," he said weakly. 

Peter saw a small, bright, dot getting bigger as it shot across the sky and he groaned, rolling painfully onto his side and staggering to his feet.

"PETER!" Tony hit the roof running and he lunged for him before he could fall down again, catching Peter under his arms. "Pete- Pete! Hey- easy, what the heck happened?" Tony demanded, his eyes widening at the sight of his chest and mask. 

"Tony," Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Crap kid- You're hurt-" he noticed urgently. 

"I'm fine," Peter said. "Just stings a bit-"

Tony curses. 

Peter gripped his arms in pain, squeezing his eyes shut before looking at Tony weakly, "The guy had a grenade. He blew it all up- all of it- police are taking care of it now- they crashed the car..."

"Slow down, hey, it's ok." Tony shook his head and looped Peter's arm over his shoulder, supporting his weight as Peter's legs slowly buckled, "Easy kid. It's ok."

"I tried to- and then it just- and- I get them but it just I don't it's all ringing-" He tried to explain, he tried to, but Peter felt himself slipping and he allowed himself too. He could now. His vision blurred and his ears pounded. 

"You did good kid," Tony said firmly, holding him tightly but gently. "You did good Pete. You did good."

"Yeah...I know..." Peter mumbled, before his head slumped to his chest. 

Tony whistled ACDC down the hallway before spinning into the kitchen and making a beeline for the fridge.

"How's the kid?" Steve said as Tony walked into the kitchen. 

Tony jumped, spinning before he shook his head. "Holy- jeez Rogers, come on. Announce your presence. Peter's ok. Banged up, but ok. He took a hit, he'll bounce back. I just don't think we was used to that kind of- well, getting blown up."

Cap smirked, "Fair. He in the lab?"

"Yeah," Tony shook his head. "The kid's like me. He won't stop, even when someone tells him to. Even when he should." Tony missed Cap's look he shot him before Steve smiled into his coffee cup as he turned back around and asked, "How was the conference?" Steve had been out for the last day and Tony hadn't seen him in a while.

"Same as it always is. You're lucky you didn't go," he muttered.

"Oh, I know." Tony grinned and poured himself a cup of coffee. 

"Is your diet primarily coffee?" Cap laughed. "I don't think I've seen you eat anything other than those gross blueberry snacks."

Tony pointed at him as he walked over, careful not to slosh his coffee, "Hey, those are good."

Cap rolled his eyes and shoved forward his plate which had a sandwich on it. "I just finished off one and I'm full. Come on, Tony. I'll get Pepper down here if I have to. I need my co captain."

"No, you're the captain, I just design everything, pay for everything, make everyone look cooler and occasionally save the world- maybe I am the captain," he realized. Cap shook his head laughing, and pushed the plate forward insistingly. Tony sighed and took a bite before he raised an eyebrow, "Not bad." 

"Sorry I missed your big quarrel with the Shocker," Cap said, genuinely bummed. 

Tony grinned, "Is that what they're calling him? They took our suggestion."

Steve laughed, "You two came up with that?"

Tony nodded while drinking another sip of coffee. "It's all over the news isn't it?"

"Yeah, we actually watched the entire fight the other day," Cap said with a small chuckle. "The whole team."

"Oh I bet they enjoyed that," Tony smirked. 

"Clint and Sam pretended they were routing for the Shocker," Cap smiled. 

Tony chuckled and shook his head, "Of course they were."

"Oh yeah, also," Steve said, leaning back on his chair and getting comfortable, "When are you going to tell Peter he's not coming?"

Tony sipped his coffee and then started gulping it down to avoid answering. 

"Tony."

"Yeah?"

Cap raised an eyebrow. 

Tony sighed, "Good question. Haven't decided. Will later."

"Later's coming up Tony," Steve reminded him. "You guys are getting close to finishing the satellite and we both know that kid is dead set on putting an end to HYDRA, as he should be. This is his fight as much as ours-" 

"You want him to go?" Tony nearly spit out his coffee. 

"No, of course not," Cap said, but his tone was conflicting.

"He has every right to want to shut this whole thing down along with us, to be right there when it happens. I wish to God he could be the one to do it, after everything he's been through. I just don't think him going back there is the best thing. I know it's not the same base, but it's close enough. He's come so far and especially after what happened the other day..." Tony trailed off.

"I don't want to see that look on his face every again, or see his eyes with such anger in them, and fear. I saw that exact expression the day I met him, when he took out those guards and he turned on me, and- and-" Tony shook his head, "he didn't hate me- he hated them, he hated where he was, he hated himself. And I thought we were done with that look Rogers-"

Tony set down his coffee, afraid he was gonna spill it. He looked around and gave a half smile, "He's gotten better at...all this. He's adjusted. Sending him back there is a death sentence. It's a restart button. The kid's finally got a chance at a normal life...and if we brought him back there I feel like we're crushing it again..."

"We all don't want to lose the kid," Steve said quietly. "I know it's a low thing to do, keeping him here, but personally, I don't even want Bucky going. He's my brother. And if that place can mess with his head one more time..." Steve took a deep breath. 

"We both got issues," Tony sighed. 

"Yeah but at least I told Buck," Cap said with a smirk but it soon faded and he sighed. 

"No luck?" Tony guessed. 

Cap shook his head, "Nope. He's set on going."

"Figured," Tony nodded. "But see- my job's harder."

"Parenting is a tough act. You should talk to Clint, I heard he has some tips," Steve said innocently. 

"I will throw this sandwich in your face," Tony threatened, chuckling. "Shut up."

"You have to tell him," Steve said firmly. 

"I know," Tony said. 

"Do you think he's gonna take it well?" Steve asked nervously. 

Tony gave him a rough smile, "God no."

About 30 minutes later, Tony had finally gotten the courage to go tell the kid he didn't want him coming. Rehersing it to himself in the hallway, he took the long way to the lab and shook his head, promising himself it would be easy and that Peter would understand. He had to go down and check on him anyways.

He finally made it to the lab and called out, "Hey kid."

"Hey," Peter said cheerfully.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Tony said firmly.

Peter turned around, his hands in his pockets, a wrench twirling between his finger, and Tony opened his mouth to say it- to tell him he needed him home- but Peter just had that look...

"I'm losing intrest. You have 10 seconds before I go back to what I was doing," Peter crossed his arms.

Tony frowned, "That's not how that works. It's important."

"So just say it," Peter shrugged.

"I'm trying to, you keep interrupting me," Tony grumbled.

Peter shot him a look, "That's funny. You know, I won't say anything and you can have your piece."

"No you know what, I think I'll hold off," Tony decided. 

"I thought it was important?"

"It is."

"Clearly."

"You know what?" Tony warned.

"No, I don't; you haven't told me," Peter grinned.

Tony glared at him, "Smart alec."

"Maybe if we played 20 questions? Charades?" Peter started to smirk. 

Tony finally blurted out, “Look Peter, we have to talk about the scanner."

Peter's expression brightened and he excitedly agreed, "Me too!"

Tony shook his head, "No- I need to tell you-” 

_“100% complete.”_

Tony froze. "FRIDAY, what?"

 _"Scanner is ready to be used sir,"_ she reported. 

"You got it to work!"

Tony spun and saw Nat walk in, with Wanda right behind her. Then Clint came in after. Tony pointed at them, "What are they doing here?"

"Uh, we live here," Clint joked, clapping him on the back. 

"Well no crap," Tony slurred.

"Good to see you too," Sam grinned. 

"No, Peter, what are they all doing?" he asked again. 

Peter raised an eyebrow, "You told me to get everyone in when we were ready to test the scanner. Well...we're ready to test the scanner. So I got everyone in."

"Yes you did," Tony looked around as the rest of the team filed in.

"Yeah Tony, keep up," Rhodey grinned. 

"Peter what happened to your face?" Vision asked. 

"Fell down the steps," Peter said dismissively.

Cap walked in and took his place next to Tony, the only one who noticed and understood Tony's confusion. "You didn't know it was ready this soon, did you?"

"Nope."

"And you still haven't told him yet, have you?" Cap asked, looking straight ahead. 

"Nope," Tony repeated. 

"Well this is gonna go well," Cap sighed. 

"Yep," Tony said, staring forward. "Ok...ok. Peter check levels for me." He went over to the nearest 3D screen and started double checking all the systems. "They steady?" Tony asked. 

"Yeah," Peter called back. "Roughly."

Tony looked behind him, "Nat, I need you to get plugged up there, stand by for intercept. Standard tracking system, same as Quinn Jet. Clint, do the same across from her. The surge is gonna be big. FRIDAY, filter out anything that doesn't match our minimum radio wave broadcast. Your screen will pull up a geographical profile of the designated regions."

_"Give me a second, they will be up shortly."_

"No rush FRIDAY. We're channeling these locations down so they cancel out anything that's not already documented by US military or allied forces. We're combining that between the location tracking and facial recognition Clint had pulled up on his screen," Tony explained.

Cap nodded from behind him, "And if Elliot Kohl has been anywhere near that place, we'll know. So then we'll know he has direct contact and move from there."

"Exactly," Peter nodded enthusiastically. "Smart right? Courtesy of HYDRA. This is all their stuff, we just bypassed their security systems and gained control of the devices."

Tony was on the side, looking at the computer when suddenly the error message he had dreaded popped up. A small alarm went off and he turned over his shoulder, "Hey nerd." Tony repeated the call urgently, "Peter!"

The kid spun around from where he had been immersed in running the numbers, "Yeah?"

Tony winced, "Remember Operation AGTC?"

Peter slackened, "Did it short circuit?"

Tony nodded firmly, "This generator's not creating a large enough surge to get it started."

"What's AGTC?" Vision demanded. "I'm not familiar with it."

"All goes to crap," Peter said quickly.

Tony pointed, "I'm keeping it steady for now, but if it doesn't work it's gonna do what it did Wednesday and I'd prefer not to get blown up again."

"You guys blew up the lab again?" Nat laughed.

"It was smaller this time. A more controlled blast," Peter protested.

Tony waved a hand and shot Peter a look, "Kid, stop gloating. Ramp it up with something."

Peter nodded firmly and looked around, "Ok...ok, ok uh- let me- just give me a second." He caught what Tony was saying and went fumbling around the lab, finally coming across an old arc reactor. He held it up, "If we attached this to the central wiring, would it give us a big enough boost? There's no cooling loops meaning it's electric current should be more than enough to fully power this piece of junk."

"Ok, you're gonna need to attach it underneath the wiring plate. If you touch the sides then the device will shut down. It's actually smart, a physical safety," Tony admitted. 

"Like an intense game of Operation," Sam called.

Peter turned, "What's that?"

"Focus kid!" Tony called urgently. 

"Right." Peter whipped around and slowly slid the arc reactor in before running to the nearest screen. 

"Keep levels at 6 above minimum. Steve do me a favor, you see that red knob?"

Steve walked over and nodded, "Yeah."

"When I say, crank it clockwise," Tony instructed. "This is not gonna be like on the SHIELD ship. You turn the knob, got it."

"That was not my fault," Cap grumbled. "I can turn something."

"FRIDAY run last diagnostic check. Make sure our levels are steady and up the power to weight ratio if you need to even one out. We need to settle the energy flow."

_"Will do."_

Peter nodded, "They returned to normal. We have a minute gap. Starting now."

"Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk," Tony said quietly before looked at Cap. "Now."

"Counter clockwise or clockwise?" he asked. 

"It only goes one way," Peter said helpfully.

"And I already said clockwise. Proves you don't listen to me," Tony sniffed. 

"God, both of you," Pepper shook her head.

Steve turned the knob and Nat immediately jumped, her fingers flying across the keyboard, "I'm getting millions of locations."

"These guys move around a lot, Tony, please tell me FRIDAY's helping me out a bit?" Clint said nervously. 

"Yeah, she's saving the data to her main server, don't worry," Tony assured him, putting both hands on the back of his chair. Peter stood next to him and he clapped him in the back. 

"Alright I got most hits in Austria and Germany," he called out. 

Nat's eyes narrowed, "Clint attach your document. FRIDAY, shove it on the big screen. Overlapping both evaluations now."

The large 3D screen expanded and the map showed up, putting Nat and Clint's profile on the board. Tony scanned it, looking and praying. That had to be something there. He pointed to a small space of a lot of dots and tapped it, his finger going through the screen. "Try that one. FRIDAY, run facial and recognition software. Compare it to the 2 maps Clint and Nat pulled up. Tell me it's a hit. That should take a while."

 _"One second sir,"_ she reported. _"Yes. Kohl was witness there on multiple occasions over the past 20 years."_

"Background check on it, check on federal databases," Tony said firmly.

_"Land is not owned. No suspicious reported activity and no crime to link to that destination."_

"It's where you would least suspect it," Bucky nodded. 

"And where was our last known location of him?" Tony asked. 

A small dot popped up not even a mile from their target. 

"I say it's a lead," Vision nodded. 

"Heck yeah it is," Clint said, leaning back in his chair. 

"FRIDAY scan that entire area look for heat signatures and any type of gas or radiation that's out of nowhere."

 _"Pulling it up now."_ A massive section fired up right on their designated spot. _"I'm getting high levels of radiation and multiple heat surges and energy surges coming from that exact location. Gas build up is condensed into one spot, released down a pipe almost 50 miles in the other direction."_

"We have our X," Tony announced. Smiles and applause echoed around the room.

"When are we leaving?" Peter said excitedly. 

Tony and Cap exchanged looks. They had a silent agreement and Cap waved everyone forward, "We need to talk to the Board, preferably now. Conference Room C."

Tony grabbed Peter's arm, "Kid, I need to talk to you."

Peter's smile almost made Tony rethink what he was going to say. He took a deep breath and stared at Peter before he said, "Hear me out before you get pissed."

"You don't want me to go," Peter nodded. 

Tony recoiled and crossed his arms, "What? Why did you say that? Do you not want to go?"

"Oh, I'm going," Peter said firmly. 

"Kid..."

"No- don't kid me. I'm not a kid," Peter said firmly. Tony gave him a look and they had an intense staring contest that resulted in a draw. 

"You are a younger adult," Tony corrected sarcastically. "You know I believe in you. I fight for you every day. Every member on the board said I was crazy to recruit a 15 year old-"

"I'm 16," Peter countered. He knew Tony knew that. He was just mad. Ignoring the look of anger and annoyance, he said, "This is my fight too Tony." 

"I know it is, trust me, I know," Tony said firmly. "But kid, you don't even have a driver's license!"

"So?" Peter spluttered, "We're not driving to Germany though, are we?"

"You don't have a passport," Tony pointed out.

"We're not going to the airport either," Peter shot back. 

"You can't just go to Germany!" Tony said loudly. 

"Why not?" Peter demanded. 

"You have...." Tony trailed off, "Homework."

Peter crossed his arms, "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

"I'm serious kid. You can't just drop out of school!"

"Oh are we going on vacation too?" Peter slurred sarcastically.

Tony was not used to someone arguing like him and he snapped, "This is not some everyday mission. I know you get how dangerous this is, and with your suit ripped up, and you're hurt, it's not the best idea! For someone with all A's, you're not being smart right now."

"That's an excuse!" Peter yelled angrily. "Are you kidding me? Tony, we're not leaving tonight. I can fix the suit. And yeah, I'm hurt, what do you want me to do, cry?"

"I never said that," Tony snarled. "What, you think I think you're weak? You're not. You just got yourself blown up!"

"This is my job, my responsibility, to end HYDRA, to make sure no one is left standing-" Peter said angrily.

"Your responsibility?" Tony laughed without humor. 

"YES! For what they did to me, to my family, to the hundreds of other people that were cycled through that base, to the people who died in front of me, to the people I killed, to the person I almost became? Taking them down is closure Tony, don't you get that. It assures me that I will never be like them, that I will never be what they wanted me to be, do the things they wanted me to do- Tony, why do you not want me going _SO BAD_?"

"Because I can't lose you!" Tony yelled.

Peter took a step back in shock, unsure of what to say.

Tony gave a small laugh and ran a hand through his hair, "There, I said it, you happy? You go back there, trust me, I know how bad it was and that's what scares me. It's gonna be deja vu- a bad mother. That place is full of evil people, probably the worst of all, surviving this long. And their job will to be to get in your head kid, and they know how. If we get separated, and you get hurt, or killed even?" he splutters. "Or maybe you somehow get taken and what, I never see you again? I am going to-"

Tony shook his head. "Knowing I let you go- knowing I let you come to that place-"

"Letting me and not being able to stop me are two different-" Peter started quietly. 

Tony glared at him, "Nu uh. This is where you zip it!" he yelled. "The adult is talking. If you die, that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience ok?"

"I'm sorry," Peter said quietly. 

"No- see- sorry doesn't cut it," Tony says firmly. "I don't want you going back there. I have seen the look on your face when you remember what happened and you are trying not to let it out and you can't help it because of what they did to you there- I saw it the day I met you, I saw it that one night in that broken down building, I see it when you have a flashback or a nightmare. And I don't want to see it again," he said.

"Peter...you gotta trust me on this one kid, please. It's not because I don't trust you. It's because I want to protect you. And I am in no way, shape, or form, saying that you can't handle it. It's just that don't want you to handle it. There's a difference. This is one battle I don't want you to fight because you don't have to, and I don't want to let you get hurt while doing so, because this will tear you apart and I am not about to sit back and watch that happen."

"Tony-" Peter said weakly.

"Wanting to protect you is not a crime Peter, and if it is, then good luck putting me in jail." Tony turned around and strode to the door, slamming it open before walking down the hall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you can probably tell, we about to ramp up.  
> Iron Spider coming up...some Infinity War quotes woven in (I hope you liked the Homecoming ones and the twist of Civil War) and....we're going to germany :) :)  
> Please leave a comment on what you think's gonna happennnn what you liked about this oneeee and just how it's going I love to hear from you guys- yall seriously are the best and you make my day. Thank you so much for reading and STAY TUNED!!!!  
> I love you all 3000 <3 <3


	19. Speaking of Loyalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off wanted to say sorry to anyone who got juked cuz i accidentally pressed post instead of edit like a day into writing this haha so I'm very sorry lol. If you thought i was that fast at posting...im not im sorry XD so here it is for reals this time- again so sorry *facepalm* the minute I clicked it was like.... C R A P  
> so my bad  
> anywayyyyyy OMG I ACTUALLY POSTED ON TIME!!!???? its a miracle XD  
> I hope you liked it!!!! I really really do actually haha I had a lot of fun with this one incorporating different quotes and just writing. Next one will have a lot of action so be ready. I had fun with dialogue in this one tho haha and humor because who doesn't love that? Also I'm still trying to hold myself back from true Irondad by sticking in some harsh humor due to Peter's past and their different relationship so I hope i'm doing a good job lol  
> Sleep is good. I should sleep. My notes must be so boring but hopefully entertaining so I'm very very sorry. I'l stop talking.  
> ENJOY! <3 <3 thank you for reading!  
> (also sorry for grammar errors, I know I probs make a good handful lol i just hate editing so so so very much XD)

Tony slammed open the door to the roof and closed it with shaking hands behind him. He ran his fingers through his hair, roughly yanking them down over his head as he gulped down a breath, his eyes darting in panic. His lungs started to tighten and he staggered a bit, clutching at his chest. Tony shook his head, blinking hard.

No. Come on, Tony.

Snap out of it.

"Not cool, not cool," Tony muttered to himself. His vision swam and he grabbed onto the nearest generator, putting a hand to his head before his knees buckled and he slammed his back against the side, sliding to the pavement, a sharp pain going down his spine.

_"Sir, you're experiencing another anxiety attack."_

"Yeah, I'm-" Tony sucked in a sharp breath and his voice cracked. "I'm well aware FRIDAY, thank you."

_"Do you want me to-"_

"Nope," Tony said too quickly.

"Nope- no, I'm great- perfect actually," he gasped, ripping the ear piece out and tossing it away, pressing his hands against his head.

He stared straight, his vision going in and out of focus until he ducked his head down into his bent knees. His breathing was sharp and Tony violently shook his head, pushing his forehead against his wrists. He squeezed his eyes shut and wheezed, straightening because of the lack of air he was getting- each time getting harder to inhale. His throat had a lump in it, his head was pounding, his hearing muffled, and there was a high pitched ringing in his ears. His eyes fluttered and Tony tensed, trying to suck in as much of a breath as he could.

"Tony?"

Tony turned and saw Peter push open the door to the roof and he cursed under his breath, turning slightly to the side, putting his hand out, "Yep- yep- f-fine."

"What's wrong?" the boy said urgently, pushing the door shut and quickly crossing the roof to get to him.

Peter knelt by his side, his eyes wide with concern and confusion. He reached forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. Tony flinched at the touch and Peter recoiled in shock, looking up at him with a broken expression.

Tony glanced at him apologetically and quickly forced his voice out to stutter, "It's not- y-you- I didn't mean- I'm sorry kid-"

Peter's face eased and he recognized what was happening, "Do you need me to talk about something? To distract you?"

"Nope," Tony said firmly, running his hands through his air and trying to hold his breath until the pain in his chest flared to levels he couldn't handle. He gasped for breath again.

"You sure? I can talk about science?" Peter said helpfully. "Or...I don't really know. Maybe if I knew what was wrong-"

"That's manipulative. I don't want to talk about it," Tony said firmly, taking deep breaths.

"Ok, but Tony, I need to do something," he protested, narrowing his eyes as if he could tell what Tony was thinking. "Is it Avengers stuff? Or me? Is it about Germany?"

"Maybe," Tony said, answering both of those before he looked sideways at Peter. "Can you stop? Remember I told you I have panic attacks sometimes?"

Peter nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I remember. Crap, am I making it worse?"

"Yeah, a little bit. Can I just catch my breath for a second?" Tony said, squeezing his eyes shut and slapping a palm against his forehead to try and snap himself out of it. Pain gripped his lungs tight and Tony's hands were shaking from the force of him trying to simply inhale.

"Do you need a plastic bag to breathe into?" Peter offered.

"No."

"You don't have any medication I need to get?"

"Nope."

"Should you be on any?"

"Probably."

"Is it PTSD?"

"Wouldn't be surprised," Tony said shakily, curling his fists. "Remember when I said stop talking? I swear to God- you're gonna freak me out."

"Tony?"

"What?" Tony demanded furiously, turning to face him.

Peter's hand came back and slapped him across the face. Tony's head whipped to the side and he brought his chin back to look at Peter in shock. "Ow!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Did that hurt?" Peter asked with a wince.

"Yes, it hurt!" Tony said, rubbing his cheek. "What the heck was that?"

Peter shrugged, "I improvised."

"Improvised? By hitting me across the face?" Tony shot back, rubbing his jaw, "Holy crap- remember you have super strength kid."

"Oh crap- I didn't go too hard did I?" Peter winced, before he raised an eyebrow. "I've punched you before," he pointed out.

"Yeah, when I let you," Tony slurred. He moved his chin, "Well my jaw's not broken so I'll say you hit just perfectly," he said sarcastically.

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Peter asked with a slight smirk.

Tony frowned but Peter was right- it had worked. His breathing had resumed it's steady rhythm, and his hands were unclenched. The ringing had died down in his ears and his vision had returned to normal. "Not important," Tony spoke quickly, and he caught Peter's smug nod. He scoffs with as much strength as he can.

"Oh, you gonna become a therapist or something?" Tony slurred sarcastically.

"Shut up. You know me sitting in a chair and talking about my problems is far from my idea of fun," Peter said dryly.

He glared at Peter, "Whatever. You spazzed me out."

"Sorry," Peter said with a slight guilty smile.

Tony sighed and ran a hand along the top of his head, taking a deep breath and and closing his eyes.

"You ok?" Peter asked quietly.

"Yeah kid," Tony nodded without looking at him.

"You know not making eye contact is like the first thing people do when they lie right?" Peter asked.

"Are you helping? No," Tony told him.

"Sorry," Peter pressed his lips together.

"I just...you told me you had panic attacks but i hadn't really..."

"I'm fine kid," Tony sighed. "It happens...more often then you know. Most of the times I can hide it. This one not so much. Every once and a while...you'd think I'd be able to keep it in, for as long as it's been happening."

Peter nodded gently and his voice was quiet, "It was my fault, look Tony, I-"

"This isn't your fault Pete," Tony shook his head firmly.

"It kind of was. If I sent you over the edge, I'm sorry. I was just so excited because we finally had a lead, meaning we could end this thing. And I- Tony, I'm sorry- I- I have to help end this- I'm sorry..." Peter trailed off and then looked at him guiltily, "I didn't mean to make you mad-"

"I'm wasn't mad. I'm not mad," Tony said firmly. "Not with you at least. Myself? Yes. But not you."

Peter stared at him intently and then looked down, "I just...you know it's just that don't get it right? I don't understand. I know it's not black and white in your mind, but in mine it is. It's going and finishing what I was forced into, or sitting on the sideline and letting the people who did this to me, to everyone I knew, letting them walk."

"We're not letting them walk," Tony glared at him.

"You know what I mean," Peter snapped, putting his head down.

"Yeah kid," he nodded. "I do. And I know I can't stop you from going," Tony said after a second of silence.

"Look, whatever happens, I can handle it. After all that's happened Tony, you need to understand I can do this," Peter pleaded with him, obviously hating the fact that he was going directly against what Tony was saying.

"Peter, it's not you! It's not you!" Tony said firmly. "I know you can handle it. That's not what-" he took a deep breath. "You are going back to the same people, practically the same place, and it's gonna get messy. I have put people at risk too many times. People around me, people I care about, they get hurt. And I know I can't stop you, I know this is your fight, and I know you won't listen to me-"

Tony rubbed a hand over his face, "I just don't like it. You can't tap out on me. Not like that night, ok?"

He knew Peter understood what he meant. Peter couldn't lose himself again, he couldn't lose control, and he couldn't let HYDRA get the best of him. Tony wouldn't let that happen, but more importantly, he couldn't watch it happen.

"Can you promise me that?"

Peter nodded, locking eyes with him, "I promise."

"Good," Tony clapped him on the knee.

"Now what time is it? Probably your bed time."

Peter made a face of disgust and shoved him with his shoulder, "I'm sixteen, not five- I don't have a bedtime. And it's only 8 o'clock. You're delusional."

"Don't worry, you're gonna be up late tonight," Tony said.

Peter jumped up with a grin, excitedly offering his hand to Tony. He clasped the teen's arm and let him pull him up. Blinking harshly, his vision swum a slight bit and his head pounded but then Peter placed a steady hand on his back to stable him.

The kid's eyes gleamed and a smile spread across his face, "Fixing the suit?"

"Making a new one," Tony corrected. "Preferably a bullet proof one. You're gonna get shot at."

"Ok, so we're gonna try something different. The skeleton for the suit is gonna be cutting edge technology, a little something I cooked up called nanotech." Tony tapped his arm and a blank prototype appeared on the screen in front of him.

"That's awesome," Peter said in awe, walking over and tapping the hovering particles. They spun out and then reformed their bond and the teen's eyes widened. "How does this all work?"

Tony shrugged, "Simple version? Tiny little particles move around at will."

Peter looked at him blankly, "Can you speak English please?"

"I'm controlling matter at a nanometer scale. They have a relatively bigger surface area in relation to similar mass just from bigger proportions," Tony explained, walking over and standing next to Peter. "But they're more chemically reactive which impacts some electrical properties, motion aspects, and their overall durability. Quantum effects eventually come into play, which take over the behavior of certain particles on the nanoscale-"

Peter circled the platform in awe, his eyes narrowed as his gears turned in his head. He nodded and hesitantly finished Tony's sentence, "allowing you to control their magnetic properties at a minor level. Millions of relationships moving and flowing at once."

Tony winked, "You got it."

"So each section is a swarm," Peter said excitedly, "and they all are connected to I'm guessing a central control panel. Meaning you control their electromagnetic bonds and movements?"

Tony grinned. "Meaning _you_ control their electromagnetic bonds and movements."

"That's- that's insane," Peter laughed happily, running a hand through his hair. 

"They'll lock in place and are incredibly durable. But also flexible, which is good for you," he said before patting the platform. "Step up."

Peter scrambled up and the nanobots suddenly gathered by his feet, climbing up his torso and arms, spreading across his body in a ripple. Peter grinned, watching as he was surrounded in a shimmering, moving version of his new suit. "Holy crap..." The kid moved his arms around, the particles shifting in place. 

"Cool?" Tony asked. 

"Cool," Peter agreed. 

"Ok get off now, fashion show is over, come on," Tony waved him down and Peter sighed, hopping back down. "We gotta start making this. I have Karen's program saved, so we need to install. You know how to reroute and transfer a compressor and processing chip to the panel right?"

"Do I look like an idiot?" Peter made a face.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Sorry, sorry, just haven't done that with you before, wanted to make sure."

"Do I know how to reroute and transfer a compressor," Peter scoffed, grabbing his ripped suit and mask from the chair. 

"I was just asking," Tony called over his shoulder. "FRIDAY get me access to all of my suit's capabilities. We're gonna do a little cheating. Technically it's not copying if it's your own work, right?"

_"This is true. Pulling up full list now."_

"Thanks, and hey do me a favor," he swiped left and clicked through a bunch of his data sheets, his eyes crossing the page, "Anything the suit can't handle force wise, like our extra heavy weapons stuff, don't put it up. Cross reference it with Peter's data stored on Karen's drive, and transfer all of that over as well. All of his webbing combos- all that jazz. And throw in the extra accessories I've been thinking up to."

FRIDAY responded, _"The list is... long."_

"How long?" Tony asked. 

_"576 web shooter combinations. 200 additional 'perks' as you like to call them."_

"You're right, I do like to call them that," Tony agreed, spinning a wrench on his finger. "Alright, well I trust your better judgement."

_"I appreciate that sir."_

"You're welcome. Give me the ones you think I'll need to check with the kid and throw the rest in the loop."

_"Will do. Adjusted sections available now."_

"Alright kid!" Tony called, "You better be able to hear me because I don't feel like moving all the way over to wherever you are."

"Go ahead," Peter shouted back. 

"You want a heater?" Tony asked.

"Why the heck would I need a heater in my suit?" Peter called. 

"Because spiders don't thermoregulate. FRIDAY, put it in," Tony instructed.

Just then Peter came around the table, "By the way? Baby monitor protocol? No touch protocol? What the heck?"

Tony grinned, "Well I had to put some boundaries on there. You're still on the training wheels protocol."

"You've got to be kidding me," Peter snarled softly. 

Tony winked, "Hey no touch protocol was just so I don't in get in trouble for doing tech stuff I'm not supposed to."

"Well I disabled it," Peter sneered. "So I could gain access to the jewelry store cameras."

Tony spun around, "You hacked...my multi million dollar suit?"

"Technically my friend did," Peter pointed out.

Tony glared at Peter with silent rage and turned around, "I'm not talking to you. Go back to whatever you were doing."

"I thought I was telling you what cool stuff to add?" Peter asked.

"You're getting mediocre stuff now," Tony decided. 

Peter groaned and went back over to his table on the other side of the lab around the wall. Tony turned back to the computer, "FRIDAY, shove it all on, it can't hurt."

 _"Yes sir."_ There was a smirk in her tone. "And hey, make sure you add a parachute please?"

About 4 and a half hours later, they had finished designing the layout, arguing over how big the spider on the back should be, they had programmed the eyes and were readt to transfer all the A.I. components. Nanoparticles were a tough thing to master, but master it they did, as well as build a small metal band Peter could wear on his wrist that the suit compressed into, the same technology used in Tony's new arc reactor.

The main problem had been webbing, but Peter had solved that by creating a fuser to the suit, removing a small section of particles so the web could exit. The contraption they had designed also let the different combinations still occur, while also increasing it's overall strength.

Tony walked back over to Peter with the small chip in his hand along with sending the 3D levels and data over to the central panel the kid hooked up. The bar flashed green and Tony smiled, rounding the corner in time to see Peter's tablet flash with the big letters PROGRAM TRANSFERRED. 

"Finally?" Peter asked, grabbing the blinking PAD from the counter and accepting the transmission. 

"Don't act like you've been waiting on me," Tony laughed, pulling up the suit and installing the chip.

Peter swiped through the 3D screen and checked the levels. "You packed it to the brim," he noticed. "The space on the chip is pretty much full."

Tony smirked, "Yeah, you got the whole kit and caboodle."

"So I'm just gonna be running and then some tech thing gonna pop out and scare the crap out of me?" Peter nodded.

"Pretty much," Tony agreed before he rubbed his hands. "12 almost 1 o'clock, the night is young. Let's get this baby up and running. I'm gonna go test some levels. Your job," he handed Peter his tablet and tapped it. "Experiment with some colors."

Peter grinned and grabbed it excitedly.

Tony pointed at him, "You make it look like crap and you're fired."

Peter laughed, "Deal."

A couple minutes later Tony reemerged and Peter spread his hands, "What do you think?"

To be honest, Tony had completely expected a shiny red and blue suit, similar to his first one. He was not expecting the dark navy, the hot rod red, and the gold. It looked like the Spider version of his suit, and man did it look good. Tony wondered if the color scheme was intentional, and Peter's smile that asked for approval proved it was.

The boy was grinning, "It's your colors."

"It looks great kid," Tony said sincerely, looking up and down the suit in awe. "You steal my thunder though, and I'll be pissed."

"Can I try it on?" Peter asked. 

"Again, it won't fit me," Tony laughed. 

Peter grinned and stepped up to the platform, pressing his bracelet. The suit's parts they had been working on separately shot over and compressed, diving into the small band and Peter grinned after waiting a couple seconds, "Well I didn't explode yet."

"Good sign," Tony agreed. 

Peter took a deep breath and tapped the metal band twice, immediately jumping as the particles surged forward, spreading across his whole body. Tony watched as the kid grinned, the suit forming around his fingers and chest, running down his legs with brilliant flashes of light as the armor formed itself and finally closed around his head. The eyes glowed and the lights on the side brightened. Peter's joyful muffled laugh came from inside. 

"It smells like a new car in here," he remarked. Tony grinned and the helmet receded from the teen's neck, Peter's hair bouncing back up, his eyes bright. "That's awesome."

"Good?" Tony asked. 

Peter did a flip and then shot a web at the ceiling, dropping down off the raised platform. He flexed his fingers and looked down at the suit, the armor glinting even without sunlight. "Great."

"And you ain't seen nothing yet," Tony smiled, leaning back against the counter in triumph. 

Despite knowing this already, it seemed the reality was kicking in and he stuttered, "You're telling me this thing has more?"

"You said it yourself, the storage in the program was almost full," Tony laughed lightly. "And the GPS and scanner is 10 times better than your original. Bigger radius and more in depth technology, different aspects. I added X-ray not that I think you would need it, but you never know-"

Peter, knowing full well that because he had a strong GPS capability he now also had a strong admission signal that could be tracked, crossed his arms. "Is that a nice way to say that you put a tracker in my suit and now you're trying to make it sound cool?" Peter asked dryly.

Tony shrugged, avoiding the question, "I put everything in your suit. Including the heater." 

"You put the heater in?" Peter sighed in annoyance. 

"Hey, one day, you're gonna thank me," Tony pointed at him, uncrossing his arms. 

"Ok, what else do we have to do?" Peter said, double tapping his wrist. The suit shrank back in and Peter shook his head with a smile before he walked over to where Tony was.

"You're not tired?" Tony smirked, grabbing the tablet and pulling a 3D screen over to the table. It was nearing 1 oclock and after working for nearly 5 hours non stop, he figured the kid would at least be a bit tired. 

"You kidding me?" Peter jumped up and snatched the tablet out of his hands before swiping through the different screens and adjusting some levels. "We just running system checks?"

Tony looked at the kid in awe and smiled at him, shaking his head as he walked away. "Yeah kid. You screw it up, I'll sell all your suits."

"Oh shut up," Peter said over his shoulder. 

At 3 am, Tony spins the prototype he had planned out and admires it. He stores the blueprints in one of the online folders where all of his ideas go, some finished, some half finished, some stupid he will never let them see the light of day.

Shoving the papers aside and shooting a broken pencil into the trashcan he runs up the steps into the main lab, "Hey Pete I think we got another-" Tony looks up when the teen doesn't respond and he smiles, chuckling. 

He walks over, nudging Peter who had fallen asleep with his head on the lab table. "Kid," he says gently, whacking him on the shoulder. Peter stirs and Tony laughs, "Told you you were tired."

Peter bolts up, blinking and he rubs his eyes, "I'm not tired, I'm not- I've still got a couple more-"

"Yea, _no_. We can do it tomorrow kid, get some sleep," Tony says, grabbing the ipad from him. 

"Sleep is for the week," Peter makes out groggily. 

Tony scoffs, shutting down the screen Peter had been running numbers on, "Yeah, ok, whatever Mr. Incredible."

"You suck," Peter groaned, getting out of his seat and rubbing his eye again, stifling a yawn. 

Tony gently pushed him forward, waving him away before he called, "You think you can make it upstairs without dying?"

"We'll see," Peter grumbles back over his shoulder. "You think you make it 3 seconds without cracking a joke?"

Tony whistles, "Dang Parker, someone's grumpy."

Peter laughs. "Shut up." 

Tony watches him trudge away and shakes his head. 

_"Sir, you should probably get some sleep as well,"_ FRIDAY suggests. 

"That is probably true," Tony admitted, before trailing off and never finishing. 

_"You are a very hard individual to work with, I must say Tony,"_ FRIDAY says.

Tony chuckled, "Why thank you FRIDAY, I really appreciate that." 

About an hour later Tony yawns and rather than hear FRIDAY tell him to go to sleep again, he gets up and walks to the kitchen, where he pours himself a coffee, looking at the stove clock that reads. 4:25 am. 

Suddenly Rhodey walks in, clapping him on the back and Tony raises an eyebrow, sipping the day and a half old coffee. "You're up early."

"Run," Rhodey explains. "Mostly stress. Couldn't sleep. How about you-" then he stops, shaking his head, "What am I saying, you never sleep." Tony winks and Rhodey shakes his head with a small laugh. His best friend had been one of the first to try and get Tony to sleep more and take care of himself, and he still constantly reminds him, but even Rhodey has given up the smallest bit in that department, except when things get bad.

Then Rhodes nods at him, "You ready for tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Tony says firmly. He had gotten the memo earlier, sent out automatically at 2 pm. The Board had come to a consensus and the team was to leave at 4 pm tomorrow, another reason why Tony wanted Peter to sleep. It would be a day trip, with all the specifications lined out. Tony had prepped the jet and gotten the suit ready for it earlier. 

"Is Peter coming?" Rhodey asked, as if reading Tony's mind. 

Tony hesitated for a second, sipping coffee before speaking slowly, "Yes."

"You're obviously not happy about that," Rhodey said, watching him carefully with narrowed eyes. 

"No," he said more firmly. "But I'll find some way to keep him home."

"You know that's not a good idea," his best friend said with a small wince. 

"Probably not. I could lock him in the compound-" Tony paused and raised an eyebrow, joking, "you know that might actually work." 

"He would hate you," Rhodey laughed. 

"I don't care," Tony admitted. "I'd rather have him alive and hating me."

"We all do," Rhodey agreed. "But you realize you're screwed."

"Oh 100%," Tony nodded, leaning against the counter.

"It's crazy how close we are though. I mean, we've been fighting to get to this point for pretty much our entire lives," Rhodey laughed without humor with a small shake of his head. "And now we're finally here. It's always been about stopping the monster, not cutting off one of the heads, and now...now we actually...can."

"There's always more. We stop one problem, another comes up and hits us across the head," Tony sighed. 

"True," Rhodey admitted before he cursed and sighed, "Our job sucks." 

"We should quit," Tony suggested. 

They both made eye contact and smirked, which turned into a laugh that died off as soon as it surfaced, leaving them staring in silence. 

Peter groaned and rolled out of bed, hitting the floor hard on his side. Wincing, he sighed, "Ow." He pulled himself to his feet and checked his phone. 9:30. Wow he slept in. But that was ok, because he wasn't going to school. 

Somehow, as if Ned knew he wasn't coming, his phone started playing Ned's jingle while buzzing and Peter sighed, flattening his hair and answering the face time. 

"Hey," he croaked, blinking as he walked to his door and opened it. 

"You're not here today are you?" 

Peter grinned and then called, "Hey Karen, are they-"

_"Downstairs, yes. 4pm is the time scheduled for departure."_

"Thanks," Peter said, turning back to Ned. "No," he shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "Do me a favor, tell Mrs. Thompson I'm sick, ok?" He shot a web at the ceiling in the middle of the staircase and dropped off the railing.

"But are you really?" Ned asked quietly.

Peter winked as he landed, releasing the web, "Totally." Following the loud voices he walked towards the kitchen. 

Ned's eyes widened. "You're going on a mission, aren't you?"

"Yeah Ned, shut up," he whispered. 

"Are those the Avengers?" Ned hissed, leaning forward as if he could see around the end of Peter's camera. 

"Yes," Peter said back, entering the kitchen, "I gotta go."

"Who's that?" Tony asked. 

"Is that Tony Stark?" Ned's eyes widened. 

"Yeah," Peter said dismissively before he answered Tony's question. "It's my friend, Ned."

Tony frowned and raised an eyebrow, "Is this the friend that hacked my suit?"

Peter blanched and Ned's jaw dropped. His friend let out a scared squeak from the other line. "Gotta go," Peter said, ending the call and shoving his phone in his pocket. "What's for breakfast?"

"Frogs legs," Tony joked, walking past him with a wink. 

Pepper laughed and rolled her eyes, handing Peter a plate, "Pancakes."

"Eat all you want Peter, we're constantly making more," Nat called from the stove where she and Clint were still making batch after batch. 

"How's the chest?" Tony asked him as he walked over to the table with him, grabbing the newspaper from the nearby table. 

"Good," Peter nodded. 

"So if I punch you really really hard, totally fine? No bruising, or cuts that are closing- none of that?" Tony asked.

Peter frowned, "I mean it will generally hurt due to the fact that getting punched isn't the most pleasant thing-"

"What if it's just a smack?" Tony shrugged. "Don't you have super pain ability?"

"I have healing ability but that doesn't mean I-" Tony whacked him in the chest with the rolled up newspaper and raised an eyebrow. Peter winced and then shot him a look, "No, I'm not dying."

"Good," Tony made a face, satisfied, before sitting down and putting his feet up only for Pepper to come by and smack them down. He grinned sheepishly and she kissed him, shaking her head.

"Sometimes I don't know how I put up with you," she smiled and Tony laughed.

"Do we have syrup?" Peter asked, looking around after cutting his first pancake. 

"Hey Sam, the kid wants to drown his food. Toss it," Cap called. Sam grinned and threw Peter the bottle of syrup. The pancake making was dying down and Nat had come over, leaving Clint and Vision monitoring the remaining batch.

"Shut up, it's good," Peter grumbled, opening the top and drizzling it on his breakfast. 

"My kid's use it all the time," Clint called from the stove. 

"Agents," Tony coughed behind the paper and Peter smirked. Pepper hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"We go through at least a bottle every time we eat pancakes," Clint finished.

"That cannot be healthy," Wanda said in concern. 

"It's not," Vision agreed. 

Clint shrugged, "Well we're not dead, so what are you gonna do?"

"Yet," Bucky snickered. 

Clint waved him off with a spatula. Peter noticed Tony's plate was pushed forward; the man hadn't eaten much. Peter glared pointedly at him and pushed his own plate away. Tony narrowed his eyes at him and shook his head and Peter leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Tony sighed and grabbed his fork, finishing off a bit of his pancakes while still reading the newspaper and Peter happily gulped down the rest of his. 

"So 4 pm," Cap reminded everyone, "be outside at the jet, ready. We have instructions on board, I'll brief you all there."

"Until then try not to die or be stupid," Tony called from the table.

Cap sighed, shaking his head with a small smile on his face. "That's good advice," he admitted.

**3:12 pm**

Peter walked down the hall, jogging down the steps to head to the lobby. There was something wrong with the electricity panel, and FRIDAY inferred it had been done manually. Peter wanted to make sure nothing was wrong before they left in a little under an hour. 

He hopped down the remainder of the steps and grinned at Zach, the security guard who was standing by the door. "Hey Mr. Parker," the man gave him a fist bump. "How's the genius environment up there?"

"Eh, boring," Peter joked before he smiled, "Just saving the world. Anything crazy happen down here?"

Zach shook his head, "Not a busy morning. No one important expected today so just the usual."

"Well thank you for what you do," Peter said sincerely. 

"Hey, it's my job. Stay in school kid!" he saluted him sharply. 

Peter went into the control room with a swipe of his key card Tony gave him and went over to the left box, prying off the door. He set it down and looked over the mess of wires, "What do we have here?"

He grabbed pliers from his belt and examined what he was working with, "Hello dear. Tell me everything-"

Suddenly his hair stood up on his arm. Peter tensed and his hand froze. He looked at the door and set down his pliers. Opening it a crack he saw 4 men walking in with a briefcase. Zach stepped up and put his hand out, stopping them, when suddenly the power went out. 

Peter blinked and looked around, his hand gripping the wall in panic. The generator kicked in and the lights came back on and Zach nodded to the men after they showed him a badge, letting them through the scanner in a heartbeat. Peter narrowed his eyes; the man had a metal belt on, yet no warning lights went off in the metal detector. Also Zach had said he wasn't expecting anyone important today.

He snuck out of the door and closed it softly behind him, grabbing a magazine and covering his face as he walked quickly forward, following them to the back wall where they ascended up the stairs. Peter shouldered the wall and then went up as well, peeking around the corner where they were waiting for the elevator. 

Peter pressed his back against the wall and pushed his coms, "Tony?"

_"Yeah kid- I was just about to call you- that surge, was that you fixing it? Because all the stuff is online now."_

"Listen to me, four guys just walked in. They must have had clearance, they got through security but I don't trust them. They have a briefcase- I'm following them. Something's not right."

Tony's tone changed and he demanded, _"Ok, ok. Don't follow them, stay where you are."_

"No, I'm right on their tail. Just put the compound on silent lock down in 15 seconds, they'll be in the elevator by then. I'll keep you updated." Peter watched as the men got into the elevator and then he sprinted to the steps, skidding to a stop in the center and flinging himself up to the level with the labs. 

He sprinted into the lab and grabbed the metal bracelet, double tapping it quickly as his suit spread across his body. The minute his helmet came up Peter spoke urgently, shoving on sweatpants and a sweatshirt. 

"Karen! Four men just got into the elevator on the first floor. Track where they are, get me their conversations and make sure it stops at every level. What button did they push?"

 _"They're on track to the tarmac. You have 26 seconds to get to the elevator on this floor."_

"What's in the one man's case?" Peter demands, pulling the hoodie over his head and sprinting out of the lab. 

_"I'm not sure. There is some sort of jammer inside of it, it's unreadable."_

"Could that jammer allow something get past metal detector?"

_"Yes, that is one of it's properties, why?"_

Peter cursed and flung himself around the corner, sprinting as his feet hit the ground. "Ok, ok, uh...what's on the upper level that they-" Peter shook his head, forcing himself faster. "The jet! The jet, they're going for the jet." He pushed the button on his earpiece, "Tony they're going for the jet!"

_"I see em kid, I'm getting a team up there now, they're only a little bit behind you."_

"How did they know about our mission?"

_"I don't know. I'm calling the Board now, it seems we have some sort of mole. They bypassed security under one of their names, with a direct order from the supervisors. FRIDAY's confirmed it's not valid."_

"Ok, I'm almost to the elevator," Peter said, sprinting down the hallway. 

_"No, you're not getting in the elevator-"_

"Watch me," Peter said firmly, scrambling to a stop in front of the door and hitting the button.

_"Kid, it's an- it's an elevator."_

"Yeah, I know that Tony, thank you," Peter hissed, already starting to shake. 

The squeaky wheels of the turning gears echoed in his ear. He remembered the days he hung limp between two guards, his hands cuffed in front of him, his head hanging. His arms gripped so hard it left bruises that faded seconds later.

Every time he knew where he was going. Cell 7. Peter started shaking at the same time every time, about halfway down. He would rub his toe against the rough ground in the same spot since it was different, smoother shade of dirty brown. An eye was usually swollen and blood dropped from a cut on his face. Peter licked his chapped lips and raised his head as the elevator darkened, the white lights turning red as they descended into the lower level. 

His screams couldn't break through the sound proofed walls. Peter would shiver in the cold air and his stomach would flip at the smell of blood.

His screams echoing in his ears as he flinched and slightly moved his head, wincing to get rid of it. The elevator in front of him was still the grimy old rusty one, with muffled screams coming from behind the door.

"Hey Pete-"

Peter's head snapped to the side in panic and he say Rhodey rounding the corner, "Tony wants us to leave early. Good you're already in your suit-"

Peter heard the elevator ding and his breathing sped up. 

His helmet retracted to his neck and without turning towards him, Peter connected to his coms and spoke quickly. "Rhodey, get out of here now. There's men in here, they're going to the tarmac. I think they're coming for the jet. Get out of here, go!" Peter hissed. 

Rhodey backed up and dove out of sight as the elevator opened. 4 men in black suits stared down at him Peter gulped. He forgot how much he hated elevators. He slowly stepped in with a nervous smile and the men shifted, looking down at him in confusion and slight worry.

Peter's hairs stood up on end and he shifted his position in the center of the elevator. He could feel all their gazes on him. His hands were shaking as the doors closed and Peter bit his lip, furiously pushing away flashbacks. 

The elevator dinged as it hit the next floor and he flinched, gulping and squeezing his eyes shut. Come on Peter, not now, _focus_. 

"So-" he found his voice and forced it not to shake, "you guys here for the conference?"

"Yes," one of them said, glaring at him. 

"Cool," Peter nodded. "What's in the box?" He laughed. They didn't laugh. "It's a quote- from a- never mind. You guys are really tall."

The man on his right shifted forward and Peter itched to strike. He forced himself to not turn; right now he had the unknown element of surprise. He took a deep breath and stared straight ahead. "Before we get started. Does anyone want to get out?"

One of the men grabbed his arm and shoved him backward, Peter slamming into the back of the elevator. He hit it hard and the man pressed an arm against his throat, "Who are you?"

Peter pushed weakly against the arm in fear, "I'm just a kid- I work here- what-"

"Who are you?" he demanded, punching Peter in the side. 

Peter coughed and groaned before he winced and choked out, "Hail...HYDRA..." 

The man let him go, stepping back, "How- what-"

Peter slumped against the wall before he grinned and put a hand to his ear, "Tony, they're HYDRA."

He punched the man closest to him across the face and kicked another right in the stomach, slamming into the side and roundhouse kicking him across the jaw. He slammed into the metal and Peter punched him the other hard in the chest, flipping him over his shoulder and slamming his foot down on his ribs as he hit the ground. Peter slid to the ground, webbing the man's face and yanking it down with him before he kicked off the wall and jumped. Peter flattened himself against the ceiling as one man lunged for him, dropping down and slamming the agent's head against the rail. 

The other snarled and threw a punch which Peter ducked, grabbing his collar and holding him against the wall, "What's your mission?"

He kicked the guy in the head who was crawling towards him on the ground before he repeated the question, tightening his grip on the one he had pinned. "You were going to the tarmac. What was your mission? Was it to get the jet?"

Suddenly something on the man's jacket crackles, and Peter hears Russian from the speaker he reveals as he pulls back his coat. Peter narrows his eyes and crushes the coms device, glaring at the man. 

The agent in Peter's grip started laughing and Peter furiously hit him across the head with his elbow. Pete's head was spinning and he pressed a hand against the wall, slipped out of the sweatpants and sweatshirt and bent to grab the case. The elevator stopped and Peter pressed his lips together, gripping the case with one hand, trying to block out terrible flashabcks and memories.

"Oh, not good, not good," he mutters to himself, his head screaming in pain, ears ringing. The elevator door opens and Peter looks up weakly. His worry is soon turned into relief; Tony is there with his arm extended, a blast heating up.

Peter puts his hands up, exhausted, sweat dripping down his forehead, "Don't shoot me please."

Tony lowers his hand and sighs in relief, "Kid, you're ok."

"Yeah I mean, slightly on the edge of having a panic attack," Peter admits, his eyesight fuzzy.

"Come here," Tony says firmly, pulling Peter from the elevator and steadying him. 

Peter shivers and blinks firmly before he shakes his head to refocus, the mask recovering his head. "We're not out of the clear," he says as he shoves the case into Tony's arms.

"What's this?"

"Don't know, don't care. Ask them," he points to the unconscious agents sprawled in the elevator. "We don't have time. We need to go," he says urgently, turning to walk quickly down the hall. "They've got some sort of transport on the tarmac. They were gonna blow the jet, we can't let them get away. They're headed back to base to warn them, we can get there first if we can get on that ship-"

Tony runs after him accessing coms, "Rogers! Hey, listen to me- everybody better be going to the tarmac. Hold off until we get there. Peter beat up those guys in the elevator, he says they have a getaway ship ready. We're leaving early and we're not taking the Quinn Jet because there might be a bomb on it."

Tony blasted through the door to the stairs and Peter webbed the top of the ceiling, Tony blasting off underneath him. "There is an unauthorized transport that is waiting for them, we need to find it and take it there. Have FRIDAY access the records. There's a log of every name submitted. Tell her to cross reference it with security. We need to find that plane."

_"Ok, got it, got it."_

Peter flipped over the rail and slammed his shoulder into the door to the tarmac. He stumbled out, looking around. "Karen make sure you get a team to put those guys in custody. I don't know if they're armed."

_"Got it."_

Just then Cap's voice rings out, _"Ok, on the very far left, there's a transport that FRIDAY got a name match for."_

"I see it! I see it!" Peter yells, already sprinting forward. Tony fires up his boosters and gives Peter a lift, letting the kid latch onto his chest. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Steve and the rest of the Avengers emerge from the other entrance and he waves them forward. 

Peter landed on the ship and he scrambled to the side. Tony pried off the ramp and went in, immediately blasting one of the men.

"FRIDAY, shut controls down please," he demanded.

 _"Working on it,"_ she responded.

Shots rang out and Tony turned angrily, feeling small flicks against his back. He turned with his palm out but Peter swung in, taking out the other that had jumped out of his seat. Tony slammed his fist into the final one, knocking him out completely. 

The pilot spun and turned, unable to look fully behind him on the other side of the plane and screamed something out in Russian. He started to lift off and Tony cursed, stabilizing himself. Peter screamed back a response in Russian, which Tony didn't know he knew.

The pilot stalled in confusion, his hands leaving the controls but not before he pushed the plane forward. He turned to see the teenager who had sprinted to the front of the plane. Peter punched him in the face, knocking the pilot unconscious and dragged him out of the seat.

"Uh," Peter turned in a panic and yelled, "CLINT OR NAT GET UP HERE, I CANT FLY!"

On cue, Sam burst through the ramp, dropping Nat off who tucked and rolled, immediately starting for the cockpit. 

"Move kid," she demanded nicely, slipping into the seat. Her hands already flew across the controls and she grabbed the headphones from the unconscious guard. 

"Sam, help Rhodey and Wanda the rest of the team," Tony said firmly.

 _"Cap needs to get the supplies from the Quinn Jet,_ " Rhodey said from comms. _"I'm going with him."_

"Nat, what do we do?" Tony asked. 

"This thing is on autopilot, I can't turn it around," she said worriedly. 

Tony cursed, "You can't stop it? Or override it?"

"I thought our plan was to go in with this ship? If i shut down the autopilot, they'll know." Nat called back. 

Tony cursed louder this time before he turned and waved Peter forward. "Kid, with me, come on."

Peter lept over the table in the center of the ship and sprinted with him. Tony grabbed his arm and jumped off the ramp, making sure Peter was firmly stuck to the side of the ship. 

_"I'm getting the supplies from the Quin Jet,"_ Cap said, breathing hard from sprinting the tarmac. _"Clint, Rhodey and I are scanning the ship for that bomb. Can you stall for 2 minutes?"_

"We'll see what we can do," Tony said, flying in front of the ship that Nat was holding back from reaching full speeds. 

"Peter we gotta hold this plane in place. Do your thing," he said, pressing his hands on the front of the plane and firing up his boosters. A massive weight hit his hands as Tony pressed backward, firing up his back thrusters as well. Peter swung by him, webbing the plane's front to the edge of the building below. 

"Cap, hurry it up, we don't want this autopilot shutting down," Tony warned. 

_"You're at 46% resist. At 72% they'll know we took their ship,"_ Nat informs them. 

Peter webbed some more of the plane as it pushed against them both. Tony fired up his boosters harder, feeling the entire ship shudder. The kid put both of his feet against the edge, holding two of the webs in either hand. 

"Well this is fun," he groaned. 

_"59%,"_ Nat relayed. _"And we're gaining altitude. Cap, I'd hurry it up, I don't know how many trips we can take with that stuff until this thing blasts off. There's a manual 1 minute launch time span I can give you and it's almost up. We're about to go really fast, really quick."_

_"Ok, we're heading back, 30 seconds!"_

_"That's cutting it close guys. You're gonna have to let go right when he gets on. You're only 2 seconds ahead. And then you'll have 3 seconds to get back on before this thing speeds up."_

"Nat is there a secondary thruster on this ship?" Tony yells, his hands making literal dents against the ship's metal siding. His blasters glowed brighter than ever and he was shaking due to the shuddering of the ship.

There's a second of silence before she says, _"Yes! It's a small pod, used to store missiles but it's empty."_

"Can you detach it right as we pull off?"

 _"Yes, I think so,"_ she said. 

"That will give us at least one more second to push before we have to slide out," Tony told Peter. 

The kid nodded, straining with his webs that were going thin, "Got it."

 _"We're almost there!"_ Cap said firmly. 

_"I've got Clint!"_ Wanda said. _"Rhodey's got Steve!"_

"I don't care who's got who just hurry up!" Tony shouted. He turned to look at Peter. "Your feet sticking?" he made sure. 

"For the most part, yeah," he groaned back. 

_"Ok, ready? Cap is getting on in 3, 2, 1- he's in. And let go!"_

Tony killed his blasters and let himself fall to the side of the ship. Peter did the same by the other wing, pressing his hands and feet against the siding to catch himself. Tony saw the kid crawl to the underside just as he did, and watched as Nat detatched the underside of the ship. 

It released and suddenly Tony was hit in the back as the ship spun, flailing midair. He wheezed, his neck and spine aching as he rightened himself. 

"Nat! What the heck happened!" he demanded. 

_"Something's keeping it in place!"_ she yelled back. 

Tony dove for the ship, slamming his side into it to straighten it out a little bit. 

_"I almost got it!"_ That was Peter, from comms and Tony kept up with the ship at a distance, searching for the teenager. There was a section of the ship that was spinning and trailing off on the bottom and he caught a glimpse of Peter on the small section of metal that was holding it in place, kicking the bottom, loosening it. The ship was still spinning out of control, further away from Tony as he got his bearings. 

"Kid, get off!" he screamed. 

_"No, I can do this- it's gonna bring the ship down if I don't-"_ Peter said breathlessly. _"Ah- I can't breathe."_

Tony shot forward, "Kid, the pressure's getting to you, you haven't caught your breath. The G force is crushing your lungs, you need to let go, the extra weight isn't helping."

 _"Yeah,"_ Peter said, his kicking getting sluggish, _"That makes sense."_

"Peter, let go! I'll catch you, I promise," Tony said firmly, shooting forward and calculating the path to avoid the spinning of the ship. Peter kicked one last time and the entire thing broke off, spinning off into open air. Tony fired a timed bomb at it so it would explode before it hit the ground.

Suddenly Peter's piece of metal snapped that he was holding onto and the kid shot a web to save himself. But then he braced with a yelp and slammed into the hull of the ship, his head hitting the bottom of the plane. 

A crackled yell of pain came from the comms as Peter clawed at the underside to stop his fall. He slipped, his head hitting his chest. 

"Pete, let go!"

 _"Ok,"_ Peter said sleepily. His hand slipped and the kid passed out, free falling in midair. 

"Give me some juice FRIDAY," Tony demanded, firing up his blasters and caught the teen, slamming into the kid in a spiral. Peter woke up at the hit and yelped, snapping back to reality, grabbing Tony's arms.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief, clutching him to his chest as he shot back towards the ship. He looked down at the kid against his chest and asked, "You good?"

 _"Yeah...yeah, I'm good. I can breathe now,"_ Peter said firmly. 

"Good," Tony set him down on the edge of the plane that had rightened itself and that was now flying at normal speeds. The ramp opened but Tony made eye contact with the kid before they could start for it. "Happy trails kid. FRIDAY, send him home."

A part of Tony's suit shot off and wrapped around Peter's waist and the kid's eyes widened for a second before he looked over his shoulder. His parachute blew up behind him, sucking him off the plane and his yell was cut off, "Oh come on!"

Peter felt himself yanked back, the stabilizer on his waist doing it's job to ease the opening of the parachute which sucked him backward. 

"TONY!" he screamed angrily, shooting a web at the last second that latched onto the back of the jet. He groaned as his arm was yanked as he came to to a stop, trailing behind the ship, flailing midair. 

He looked over his shoulder and saw the parachute fully extended, blown up behind him and he cursed. But the real kicker was whatever device was around his waist, with thrusters tugging him backward. 

"Karen, what is this thing?" he demanded. 

_"A safety precaution."_

"Is it on autopilot?" he asked, watching as the thrusters shifted as he swung around. 

_"Yes it's final destination is on the roof of the Avengers Compound,"_ she clarified. 

"Of course it is," Peter hissed, pushing firmly against it. "Turn it off!"

_"I do not have jurisdiction Peter, I'm sorry."_

"Of course you don't," he groaned, slamming his palm against it. The parachute tugged harder and Peter cursed, his hand slipping on the web. Wind whistled in his ears and Peter groaned, gripping his web harder, looking back at the ground that was getting further away. 

"Oh my God, oh my God-" Peter said breathlessly. "Karen, I'm begging you right now- please just engage anything- do anything!"

There was silence and Peter cursed. Suddenly 8 gold metal legs lept out behind him and Peter shrieked, almost letting go of the web in shock and panic. Peter screamed begging his A.I., "KAREN! Please tell me those are one of the things Tony installed that I didn't know about?" 

_"Yes, they are."_

"Thank God-" Peter breathed a sigh of relief and figured out how they were connected to his movements and on the display. "Ok, ok, ok, here goes-" The legs followed his movements and extended, slashing through the parachute. Immediately Peter felt a huge portion of the weight release and he pulled himself further up the web, wrapping it around his wrist. 

"Last time," he grunted, slashing the strings that held the parachute against his back and they released, the chute wiping away in the wind, fluttering to the ground. 

"Thank you," he said in exhaustion. "Ok, now for this stupid thing." He pushed against the device around his waist again but it wouldn't budge, the thrusters still firing to pull him down to safety.

"Ok, Karen, I know you said you don't have jurisdiction," Peter panted. "Meaning you can't turn it off, but can you stall the thrusters long enough for me to try and slip out?" he pleaded. 

_"I can...do that,"_ she responded slowly. _"I can only give you 15 seconds though."_

"That's enough," he said firmly. He looked down and watched as it lit up and the thrusters spluttered out.

 _"15 seconds,"_ Karen reports. 

Peter shoved hard against the device but it wouldn't budge and he cursed, slamming his palm against it in fury. His hand slipped and Peter groaned, gripping it harder, his hand aching. _THINK_ Peter, think.

Oh no...

Oh yes...

"Ok, I can't get out of it but- oh my gosh- I could be really stupid for a second," Peter said. 

_"4 seconds. Peter, I know what you're thinking and-"_

"Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk, Karen," Peter said firmly. The force of nanoparticles would be enough. You can't stop the flow of microscopic matter, that's just common sense. Peter sucked in a breath and double tapped his wrist. His suit retracted, flowing towards his wrist and he felt the device around his waist loosen. Peter shoved it as hard as he could and it slipped off, sliding down to his feet. 

Letting out a hoot before forgetting he couldn't exactly breath, his eyes bugged in panic. Peter kicked it and it spun away, dropping into empty air just as the thrusters turned back on. It shot toward the ground and went out of sight. 

Peter gasped for breath, his ears popping, chest exploding, and quickly slammed his hand down on his wrist to put his suit back on. It closed over his head and he gulped in a much needed breath, his eyesight returning to normal, the pressure on his chest releasing. The suit looped over his legs and connected, pressing against his skin. His display lit up and Peter closed his eyes. 

"Karen, remind me to never do that again," he gasped, starting to climb back up the web.

_"Gladly."_

He reached out and grabbed onto the ship, his arms aching, his hands numb. He hugged the siding, putting his hands and feet against it, grateful and exhausted. Then he painfully crawled over to the side, slowly so that he didn't fall off.

"Karen, light up a close entrance?" he said weakly and a path lit up on his display. "Thanks."

 _"Proceed forward. Would you like a stealth entry? It won't alert the main control center that there was a breach."_

"Yes please," he said gratefully, before he pried open the side door with one hand and shoved himself up. "Tony's gonna kill me- but you know what, I'm gonna kill him, so it evens it out."

Rolling inside, Peter flopped down on the ground in the middle of the engine room, reshutting the door behind him and laying on his back, breathing hard. "What would i do without you Karen?" 

"I'm going, I'm going!" Tony groaned, walking down to the engine room. "Cap, talk me through this."

 _"You're just pulling a lever,"_ Steve said back. 

"No, it's a lot more complicated than that. But I think I can handle it, unlike you," Tony sniffed, walking down the steps. 

_"At this rate we'll get there in under 5 hours."_

"Hey that's not bad," Tony admitted. 

_"Switching over to Max speed now. They don't know we're in here, if you can hack into proper procedures we can safely land and infiltrate without them even knowing."_

"That's the plan," Tony agreed. "FRIDAY help them out."

 _"Will do sir,"_ she responded. 

He walked down the steps and went to the control panel at the back of the ship. "Ok Rogers, talk to me."

 _"Ok, if you follow the directions, this should go pretty smoothly. Just a routine fix,"_ Steve said slowly. 

Tony grinned, "Following is not really my style. Century mode." The suit pulled away and raised a palm, the center lighting up so Tony could see what he was doing. 

Steve laughed, _"And you're all about style, aren't you?"_

Tony smirked, whipping out his screwdriver to remove the center paneling, "Of the people in this ship, which one is; A. wearing a spangly outfit, and B. not of use?"

 _"Very funny Stark,"_ Steve chuckled. " _Ok, so you should see the red wire-"_

Tony suddenly heard something behind him and he froze, looking out of the corner of his eye. "Hold on Steve, I heard something."

_"You think someone's in there with you?"_

"I don't know," Tony whispered.

 _"I'm coming, stay there,"_ Steve said. 

"It's possible we missed someone," Tony said quietly, making his way forward, the suit forming around his body. He turned the corner and scanned the area, finding nothing. "It's not like we checked the engine bay when we took over the ship. And Germans are loyal-"

"Yeah, uh speaking of loyalty," came a voice behind him. 

Tony whirled in shock, recognizing the voice immediately. "What the-"

Peter dropped down from where he had been hanging from the ceiling and Tony's expression turned to that of shock, anger, disbelief, and confusion. Pride was in there too, but he didn't want that to be visible. 

The teen put his hands up in surrender, a wary cautious smile on his face, "I know what you're gonna say."

"You should not be here," Tony hissed.

"Oh yeah, why? Because you threw me off a ship?" Peter crossed his arms. 

"I did not throw you-" Tony spluttered. 

"Look, I was gonna go home-" Peter started.

Tony shook his head and looked away, scoffing, "I don't wanna hear it."

"But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you on the way-" Peter spluttered. "And how this is my fight Tony, you agreed with me!"

Tony sighed, shaking his head and putting his hand out mockingly, "And now I gotta hear it."

Steve suddenly burst open the door, "I heard yelling-" his eyes found the teen and he looked shocked, "Peter?"

"Not a good time Steve!" Tony yelled behind him without even turning. 

Steve blanched and quickly closed the door. They both could hear him forcing everyone backwards. Tony turned back to Peter who had his arms crossed. 

"Yeah, you're gonna hear it, get over it," Peter said stubbornly, matching Tony's glare as he continued his story. "So I kinda stuck to the side of the ship and then had to get that _ridiculous_ thing off and then the parachute. By the way, I have metal legs? I'll give you that- it's part of the reason I'm not 100% pissed at you right now-"

"You're pissed at me?" Tony practically yelled.

Peter shot him a look, "Don't ruin my excitement. It's awesome! And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way. So if anything, it's kinda your fault that I'm here," he finished. 

Tony's gaze snapped back to Peter furiously and he pointed at him fiercely, "What did you just say?"

Peter winced, stepping away and gulping, "I take that back."

"Thought so," Tony said firmly.

Peter ignored him and looked around, "And now I'm here. With you. In a ship. Going to Germany."

Tony nodded, pressing his lips together, "Mmhm. Yeah. Right where I don't want you to be. This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. This could very well be a one-way ticket. You hear me? Don't pretend like you thought this through. I gave you an out, and you didn't take it."

"Of course I didn't take it!" Peter exclaimed.

"You definitely did not think this through," Tony shook his head, followed by a laugh deprived of humor. 

"No. I did think this through," Peter cut in.

Tony shook his head more obviously and pointed at Peter, "You could not have possibly thought this through."

"I did, ok!" Peter yelled and Tony let him talk. "I need to be there Tony, I need to go," Peter urged. "I told you on that roof. This is my fight, my past, I am fighting for _me_. I can't just pass this one up. I can't just be stuck on the bench." He shook his head before he grabbed Tony's arm, making sure he had locked eyes with him. 

"I get it, ok? I understand why you don't want me going. But I could lose you too, you get that right?" Peter said quietly. "You do get that? I'm bulletproof too now, I've got this new suit, meaning we are both at the same risk. But you gotta let me do this one," he urged. 

"I will be safe, I will listen to you and stay out of the big fight or whatever you need me to do, I will do whatever it takes- I just need to be there. When this ends, I need to know I helped, that I fought. That's all I ask. Please, Tony. Please."

Tony started at him and then sighed. "I'm gonna regret this."

"Probably," Peter admitted. Tony shot him a look and Peter added, "not. Probably not."

Cursing himself, Tony pressed his hands to his temples and then groaned out, "Fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who were those guys? Who's the mole? Will that have a huge twist on the story later? Maybe. Idk. Probably. Will there be more Irondad coming up? Maybe. Idk. Probably. And a big fight between 2 characters- not who you think? Maybe idk. Probably- yes. Yes there is a lot coming up I am very excited for muahahha  
> But i hope you liked it! Please tell me what you thought, comments are so awesome, I love hearing from you guys and I really appreciate you all sticking with this. So thank you so so so much <3 yall are the absolute best and the support has been amazing. Get ready for some hard core action next chapter which will be intense!!! So stay tuned and thanks for reading!!!!  
> I love you all 3000 <3


	20. Grand Theft Auto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely lovely readers, can I just say thank you right off the bat. Yall are amazing and the support has been incredible so thank you for all ur comments they are outstanding. <3 <3 
> 
> OK OK OK so first off! I'm in a very very very bad mood rn. My trip for choir may get canceled which is so not fun and I am very very very livid at the moment but there is a silver lining! That would mean the next update would not be delayed like it would have been. If it is delayed, I'm very very sorry in advance. I will miss you guys a lot and feel rly bad :( :( So i made this one a little longer haha  
> oh yeah also....bear with me on the 'russian'. I was not about to google translate- actually i was about to but then I was like thats too confusing, and then it was a smaller font and I was like wthhhh so yeah just...sorry if its confusing. It shouldnt be. I don't think. wow I need sleep
> 
> Anyway, we're just getting into the action so I really hope you like it. But we get some Peter kicking butt and some small sparks of irondad (which will be fire next chapter omg I have many things planned). Did I literally put in a section where tony teaches peter how to drive? Yes. yes I did. And maybe we'll figure out what happened in Budapest! :)  
> I hope you enjoy!

"So far so good. No scanners or trackers," Nat reported from the cockpit, Clint flipping a few switches on the dash. Blinking lights lit up and he adjusted a center dial.

"How do you guys know that stuff?" Peter marveled, leaning to watch their hands moving around the panel.

"This is nothing. It's on autopilot," Nat grinned. "Clint just wants to look cool." Peter knew she was joking.

"I learned in Budapest," Clint winked at Peter, whose head swiveled as Nat let out a laugh.

"Budapest," she agreed with a sigh.

"What happened in Budapest?" Peter asked excitedly. 

Nat and Clint exchanged looks and then he grinned and took a breath, "Well-" 

"Save the story time for later, we gotta do a run through kid," Tony tapped his shoulder. 

"He's mad at me," Peter grumbled and Nat and Clint both grinned back at him as he walked to the bench and took a seat next to Sam, who shoved his shoulder. Peter shoved him back and then they both snapped their attention to the front where Tony and Cap stood. 

"We're about 30 minutes out," Tony said. "FRIDAY decoded everything on the ship and tracked the signal back to it's source, which is exactly where we're headed, meaning we were spot on."

"Do we get a gold star?" Sam asked. 

"Shut up," Tony laughed. 

"As of right now, they don't know we have their ship," Steve said firmly. "Meaning we have the element of something called surprise."

Rhodey jumped, flicking his hand toward Vision, "Boo!" Vision stared at him blankly and Rhodey shook his head, sinking back down into seat, waving Vision's questions off while Wanda snickered. 

Tony pushed a button on his wrist and the suit that was standing in the corner vacant, projected a blueprint from it's palm. Steve pointed to the far end of the blueprint to a section on the West End of the massive compound. "This is where we need to go. But this ship is headed here, to the loading bay."

Tony sighed, "So unfortunately, we are being taken to the wrong loading bay, meaning once we get close enough, FRIDAY will hack into their system and change our lading site. Which in turn, will also let us gain access to basically the entire compound's database and controls."

"What happens if they suspect something and check in? I know we're monitoring coms but if they come through the speaker and we don't answer...they won't take that lightly and our job will be ten times harder," Bucky pointed out.

Tony nodded, "Well luckily we have a teenager who doesn't take the hint that being thrown off a plane means go home-"

Peter grinned, "So you admit you threw me off a plane-"

"Parker, I swear," Tony warned seriously, before he puts on a sarcastic smile. The first thing they needed to deal with was the language. Although HYDRA was a primarily German operation, he knew from experience that Russian was the prime source of communication. The men on the plane had been speaking it and Bucky confirmed his thoughts. Luckily, they had the solution. "Peter and Nat know Russian, but since it was an all men team...no offense Nat-"

"None taken," she assured with a smirk.

"She's probably better at it then me anyway," Peter admitted.

"So if they come on coms, we know who to turn to," Tony finished after the interruption.

"Glad I came then," Peter says with a cocky smile.

Tony glares at him, "Before I throw him off the plane a second time, I'm moving on. We need to land here. There _will_ be people waiting for us- a lot of themr. Sam, Vision and Rhodey, you guys need to get to the entrances and exits, make sure no one can leave. I'm shutting down communication so no one will know we're there. We make a big mess and take out that entire section of the compound right under their noses. FRIDAY will cut coms and contact for that entire sector."

"No word gets out, we're still undercover," Wanda nodded. "Smart. But those men were supposed to blow up our ship, some higher officers will probably be waiting for a response."

Tony nodded, "Which is why we are going to send out a message saying that there may be a tracker or bomb on board. They parked their ship on the top of the Avengers Compound, they're smart enough to conciser that as a possibility. So we make sure they know there will be a delay while our ship is checked for a bomb that doesn't exist. We have enough firepower to explode this ship after we finish taking care of the tarmac, and we'll make sure the whole compound knows a ship blew up. Procedure mandates they move the higher ranking officers to the 3rd level, meaning that will thin out the guards stationed at every exit and hallway checkpoint."

"We're tearing this place to the ground. Once we make contact and have a good upper hand we signal SHIELD, who will make a massive blockade around our coordinates, and sweep the skies. They have access to a scanning program Tony made so if anybody somehow gets out, they'll know," Steve nodded. 

Tony stepped forward and pointed to another section on the projection. "Once we infiltrate, we'll get into the upper level-"

"Problem with that," Peter spoke up. 

Tony turned, "Yeah?"

"Those doors?" Peter pointed on the 3D diagram that was projected in the center. "Reinforced steel and titanium. You break them down and the entire compound goes under silent and permanent lockdown. You could normally get a key card but the compound would be on Red 3 and the keys would be useless. It's a dumb but smart move. That upper level literally becomes a solid coffin. No one can get out but no one can get in, unless you have someone on the inside."

"Like the doors that only open one way so you look like an idiot running into them?" Clint called. 

Peter frowned, "Yeah, sure, exactly like that."

"So we go through the underground ventilation shaft," Steve suggests, crossing his arms. "It runs through the entire compound, just for reference." 

Peter shook his head, "I wouldn't risk it. It's protocol that in ventilation shafts, any sensed weight that's over 70 pounds causes the oxygen to be exposed to a highly reactive gas. You'll die...in not such a good way."

Tony made a face, "Why the heck would they think of that?"

Peter winced, "Because of me."

Silence. 

Tony nods, "Gotcha. Well, thanks for the pro tip, how do we get in then? We've got a little under 30 to figure this out. Shoot out ideas, even stupid ones are welcome, we'll make it work."

Peter raised his hand and spoke slowly, "If you can hack into the server and get one of us linked into their coms, one of us can get a uniform from one of the guards and go in through the door before we blow everything up."

"Would that work?" Vision asked.

"HYDRA hasn't had too many internal backstabbings. External, yeah, but they usually trust their own guys," Bucky spoke up with a firm nod. 

"Yeah, cause they're all crazy, that's why," Rhodey sighed.

Peter nodded, "I don't think they would suspect someone running from the fight on the tarmac, especially with the codes or the results or whatever you want to call them. So one of us goes ahead and gets inside, the rest of us cause a distraction. That way when you take care of everything and get to the door, the person could open it from the other side without setting off the alarm. Then we'd be in."

"Ok, so I could do it," Nat said firmly. 

Everyone nodded, ecouraged by the fact that their plan was getting somewhere. Then Rhodey put up a hand, "Yeah, but they know us, costume or not."

Nat's smile fell and she nodded, "This is true. I mean, who wouldn't recognize this beautiful face?" she winked with little humor.

"He's right. We're the Avengers. We wouldn't be able to get through without someone recognizing us," Steve nodded firmly. 

"Maybe not you guys..." Peter said slowly. 

"No," Tony snapped, turning back around and glaring at Peter. "Absolutely not."

"What?" Sam asked, clearly not understanding what the kid was implying. 

"He wants to do it," Tony hissed. "No, Peter. No way."

"Protocol would strictly have the person be protected at all costs and they would get me up to the third level without anyone even blinking. I could get in safely, like the guy running with the codes in Rogue One," Peter spluttered. 

"Did you seriously just make a Star Wars reference?" Tony demanded. 

"Didn't everyone die in Rogue One?" Bucky asked. 

"Buck-" Peter glared at him. 

"Thank you Bucky," Tony said with an exaggerated nod. "Thank you."

"Tony, it makes sense. They don't know me! To them I would look like another solider," Peter said firmly. "You know this is the best shot. I would run in, I'd have my suit on, and I could get all the way to the 3rd level and then just wait. It's as easy as that. And I know Russian. Tony, I can do this."

"No," Tony shook his head. "We'll find another way. There's gotta be another way in there."

"There isn't," Peter insisted. "Tony, I'm the best one for this."

"I hate to say it..." Steve mumbled. "But the kid's right."

"Rogers-" Tony spun with a glare. 

"Tony, I don't like it any more than you do-" Steve protested. 

"You really want to go with this Steve?" Tony demanded. 

"It is in no ways the best option but I think it's our only option," Steve hissed. 

"Tony!" Peter interrupted firmly before Tony could blow up at his friend. Tony spun and faced him and Peter spoke calmly, locking furious gazes with the man. "We need to get inside that base. You guys blow up the tarmac, I get inside. I get to level 3, you'll already take out the cameras. I know the ins and out of that place, I'll hide on the third level and wait for your signal. Then I'll let you in. Easy as that. Literally nothing could go wrong."

"Everything could go wrong!" Tony spluttered. 

"You got a better idea?" Peter demanded furiously, but there was a plea behind it. Tony was fuming but he shook his head and crossed his arms, turning to the side. 

"Can you do it?" Steve said firmly, locking gazes with Peter. 

Peter glanced at Tony who refused to look at him and then nodded, "Yes."

"There we are," Clint says nervously, as he steadies the ship that's slowly descending. "Looks cozy."

"You good kid?" Sam asked, hitting Peter's shoulder. 

Peter put on a smirk and nodded, "Yeah. All good." He wasn't. His heart was pounding, seeing the familiar layout of the base. His hairs stood up on his arms and he rubbed them self consciously. He peered down through the window, narrowing his eyes, already hearing screams in his ears, as if he could hear them from up here. To be fair, he always heard them. 

Peter had blocked them out recently, but now it was all coming back. He felt himself flinch as the ship dipped and he curled his fists, setting his brow. Pull it together Peter. Push it down. It's what you always do. Peter steadied his breathing and set his jaw, tapping his hand against his leg.

The team looks out the window at the darkened sky. The ship dips forward again and descend past a growth of thick trees, down along a landing strip. The lights gleam, dimly lighting up the dark compound. Nat pushes a hand against her headset and then leans to Clint, "You picking that up?"

"Yeah, keep it online, I'll match the frequency," he said.

Nat pushed a button and turns around a second later, "We're picking something up from comms. Peter, you're up."

She held up the handheld speaker and Peter scrambled forward, taking the coms device, closing his eyes and listening as Russian poured out through the static. Peter nodded and held the mute button, calling over his shoulder, "FRIDAY got through to their database, we're being asked to land in the designated tarmac."

"Just received the transmission," Clint confirmed. "Right on the X. Tell them thank you."

Peter released the button and spoke fluent Russian, before he paused again as another sentence came choppy through the speaker. Then he pushed the button again and spoke quickly, "They're asking on our report."

"Tell them the Avengers jet was destroyed, but our ship might have a tracking beacon. Request an inspection," Steve said firmly.

"And tell them you have important information you need to bring to the ranking officer," Tony added. 

Peter spoke quickly and lowered his voice before he paused, said something else, and then clicked the device off. "We're set," he breathed in relief. 

"Alright team," Steve said. "You've got 5 minutes. Get what you need."

Tony walked to the back of the ship and Peter cursed under his breath, debating if he should even try to talk-

"Go," Nat tossed her head over.

Peter nodded, shooting a web at the ceiling. He swung a slight bit, slipping through the ship. Dropping down a couple feet behind him, he asked, "Tony?"

"What?" Tony turned and looked at him and for once Peter couldn't read his gaze because it was filled with so many emotions. 

"You're pissed," Peter said weakly. 

"Yeah, I am, you want to know why?" Tony snarled. "You said you would stay out of the big fight, you said you would be safe. You said you would listen to me and that was the _only_ reason I said ok to this. Now you're shoving yourself into the middle of the fight, literally putting yourself in the middle of the base, _alone,_ while I'm stuck outside. So yeah, I'm a little pissed."

"Tony-" Peter started. 

"No," Tony said firmly, pointing at him in anger. "No, Peter. If we weren't flying over the base right now, I _would_ throw you off the plane again."

"I'll be fine," Peter said, because that's all he could say. He remembered promising all of that stuff. He just didn't think of it all until he broke it all. 

"Yeah, you better be," Tony said, stepping into his suit as the helmet closed over his head. "I mean it, kid." Tony walked past him and Peter watched him storm to the front. Rhodey moved out of Tony's way, saw Peter's expression, and put two and two together. He nodded firmly at Peter who lowered his gaze. 

Rhodes walked over and he put a hand on his shoulder, jostling him a little bit, "He's just worried about you."

"Funny way of showing it," Peter grumbled.

Rhodey laughed, "Yeah, well that's Tony. You do understand you're screwed if you even get so much as scratched right? You do get that?"

"Is that supposed to motivate me?" Peter scoffed.

"Go team," Rhodey said with a small smirk, but his gaze spoke sincerely. Peter gave him a small smile and clapped him on the back as he went over to the siding. Clint and Nat shut the door to the cockpit as the ship lowered onto the tarmac. Peter squinted and saw the bright landing pad, crawling with HYDRA soldiers. 

"The minute they get on the ship FRIDAY's shutting the place down," Tony called out. 

"Things are about to get really crazy, really quickly," Sam said to Bucky who scoffed.

"Just whatever you do, aim at the bad guys. Don't want your bad shot being what stops me," Bucky joked.

"I hate you," Sam shook his head. 

Peter jumped to the ceiling, hanging down from it from his fingertips and feet, ready to flatten himself against it when the time came. 

"Peter, when they come in, we have to close the door behind him. Can you make the shot?" Steve asked, talking about his webs to hit the control panel. 

"Can I make the shot," Peter repeated with a slight smirk. Steve grinned and backed against the wall. Then Peter's headset crackled and a new channel popped up. Tony's voice rang out, "Kid..."

Peter turned to look at him and waited for him to finish his sentence. When he didn't, Peter weakly asked, "Yeah?"

"...don't be stupid," Tony said quickly before he tapped into the teams coms, "Ladies and gents here they come. We're in for a rough ride, time to work for a living."

"You too," Peter said quietly back before the entire team went silent.

The ramp lowered and before Peter could even see them he shouted to the guards in Russian, indicating that they needed help; one of them was wounded. Peter stretched out his arm as the man stormed onto the ship and just as the last man cleared the door, Peter shot a web. It slammed behind them, making them scramble back and Cap threw his shied, knocking out the leader. 

Wanda's red energy encased the other 3 in place and Tony stepped out, "FRIDAY's hacked their coms. 50 seconds until this entire place goes off grid. Peter, get your halloween costume." 

Wanda slammed all 3 men into the ground where they were immediately knocked unconscious and the red magic died, fading around them. Sam was already helping Peter rip the coat and baggy pants off of the man Cap had knocked off.

Peter shoved on the coat and buttoned it hastily, grumbling, "Yeah, I've always wanted to be a HYDRA solider." He caught the hat Bucky tossed to him and slammed it on his head, straightening it before he turned, spreading his arms, "How do I look?"

Tony ignored him and he handed him some sort of tablet made from nanoparticles. A bunch of blueprints were scrolling along the screen. "You got that?"

"Yeah, yeah," Peter said firmly, tucking it under his arm as he looped a belt through the pants and shoved on the man's boots. 

"Ok, Nat, Clint, get out here!" Tony yelled over his shoulder. The two pilots put down their headsets and slipped out of their seats. Clint grabbed his bow and arrow and slung his pack onto his pack. Natasha grabbed her earpiece and holstered her pistols on her belt, clicking on her tasered bracelets. 

"We're setting fire to the front of the ship," Tony spoke quickly. "Peter you need to sprint out of here, we'll be out a second behind you."

"16 seconds," Bucky said, glancing at the timer they had put on the bomb. 

"Wait, he can't just walk out of here, they'll suspect something," Rhodey cut in. 

"He's right, you can't," Wanda winced. 

Peter turned, "Hit me. With your shield."

Steve faultered, "Kid-"

"9 seconds," Vision said urgently. 

"Steve, I know you don't want to do it-" Peter said quickly. 

"What is with you trying to-" Tony demanded. 

Peter spun, "Not now Tony!"

"Three seconds!" Bucky said louder. 

"STEVE, NOW!"

Steve cursed loudly and Peter braced, holding the tablet to the side. Steve swung his shield, hitting Peter right in the chest. He had braced so it hadn't hurt as much, but slamming into the ramp door did. Peter's feet left the ground and he felt his back hit the metal and bend it, taking it right off it's hinges. 

Peter went tumbling as the front of the jet caught on fire and the Avengers poured out. He hit the pavement hard, crying out as he scraped his side. Peter tucked the tablet against his chest and rolled on the ground, sliding to a stop. Peter shakily got to his feet, HYDRA agents already coming forward, firing at the jet. 

Peter screamed in Russian, waving the tablet and staggering forward with a fake limp, his ribs actually aching a small bit. He wiped blood from his mouth when he hit the ground and a few men came forward with guns, leveling them at his chest. 

Peter pointed behind him and stuttered out a response, before one grabbed his arm and started hauling him to the entrance. He suddenly dropped and Peter flinched; he man was gunned down by either Bucky or Sam. Peter ignored everything around him, focusing on the door as he shoved through the waves of soldiers starting for the ship and his breathing sped up. 

_"Get me to the door! Get me to the door!"_ he shouted. 

Men shielded him and he made it, slamming into the door with his shoulder and wrenching it open, just as Sam landed behind him and swiped all the guards away. Peter slammed it shut behind him before he immediately ducked and fell onto his back, holding up his hands as he shoved the tablet forward while crying out a plea. 

_"Don't shoot, don't shoot! Hail HYDRA! I have a message-"_

The man who had shot over his head thanks to Peter's senses, glanced down, his eyes widening. He grabbed Peter's coat and pulled him up roughly, demanding his credentials. Peter stumbled against the wall, his ears ringing from the chaos outside and he put up his hand stuttering out a believable name before he cut himself off and held up the tablet.

 _"The cameras are out kid,"_ he heard Steve report. No one was looking and Peter winced.

"This is gonna hurt," he warned, before he punched the man right in the head, knocking him out instantly. Peter lowered him gently to the ground and continued forward, signaling, "Ok, radio silence till I see you guys." Then his head snapped up; he heard soldiers coming down the hall shouting: _forward, forward._

Crap. The hallway was straight, he wouldn't get to the split in time. He had no choice but to put out his hand, gasping for breath, telling the men that rounded the corner to stop. A few raised their guns when they saw Peter's state, but after he collapsed against the wall, muttering out some gibberish Russian, they lowered them.

_"Please- please- I have to get to-"_

One came forward and grasped his arm as he stumbled, and Peter couldn't help but flinch as they demanded what he was doing.

This isn't the same place Peter.

And these aren't the same people.

Snap out of it, _now_.

Shaking his head to clear flashbacks, Peter took a shaky breath and fisted the man's uniform, speaking firmly. Peter voiced his need to get upstairs after muttering a cry for help and the man's eyes widened as he saw Peter's tablet that he was clutching desperately, blood smeared on his fingers.

As much as it disgusted him, Peter leaned heavily on one of the guards that helped him walk forward. He supported him up the stairs as Peter faked a stagger. They arrived at level three, just as a man was closing the door.

 _"WAIT!"_ the guard yelled in Russian to the guard at the door, spluttering out that Peter had a message from the officers regarding the Avengers. Peter was shoved forward before the door closed and he tripped, falling to the ground in the middle of the hallway just as the door shut behind him for good, locking.

Peter breathed a sigh of relief. They were in. Just in time too.

Lockdown had been initiated, the lights on the hallway flashed a dim red. Peter looked up at the 3 men standing over him, demanding answers to their questions. Peter staggered to his feet only to be grabbed around his collar and shoved against the wall.

"FRIDAY, lights?" Peter croaked. On cue, the hallway went dark and Peter broke out of the hold effortlessly. He spun and punched the man across the face before he kicked the other in the chest, slamming him into the wall. He swiped the man's legs out from under him and grabbed his gun, slamming it across his head. 

Peter's eyes effortlessly adjusted to the dark and he knocked the gun out of the last solider's hand, flipping him over his shoulder. The lights came back on as Peter straightened the uniform and his hat. 

"FRIDAY, talk to me," he said firmly, shooting the camera he knew was out for good measure. 

_"All cameras are offline. All communication is as well," she reported. "Lockdown has been initiated, guards are thinned out and officers are being taken to the level you are currently on, just as you predicted."_

Peter slumped against the wall, breathing hard. He yanked off the hat, "And how's the team looking?"

 _"Ship is destroyed. Containment has been achieved and SHIELD has been alerted. I'd give their estimated arrival a little under 6 minutes,"_ she said. 

"Six minutes. I can handle 6 minutes, right?" Peter asked no one in particular. His breathing had been speeding up for a while now, and his hands were shaking. The flashbacks were slowly creeping up on him, his vision splotching black. 

_"Your vitals are exceeding normal levels, are you ok Peter?"_ FRIDAY asked. _"Should I connect you with Tony's coms?"_

"No," Peter said urgently, pressing his hands to his head and squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm fine FRIDAY, I just need a second. Don't connect me until they initiate contact, ok?"

 _"Of course,"_ FRIDAY said. 

Peter held his side and took a deep breath when suddenly the far door opened. Peter looked sideways and cursed, flipping to the ceiling and swinging forward as shots rang out. He landed behind the mass of about 8 men that crowded the hallway.

"Hey guys, just like old times?" Peter punched the man in the face and kicked one in the back, slamming him into the agent in front of him.

The man's gun went off, peppering the ceiling and Peter swung forward, kicking someone across the head and quipping, "Illegal weapon discharge!"

He ducked another shot and webbed the man's gun, flinging it around to land in the small of his back, pitching him forward. Someone slammed into his side and Peter hit the wall hard, his head smacking against the concrete. He groaned and dropped to the floor as someone swung and Peter slid under a man's legs. He webbed the ceiling and raised himself quickly, before he kicked the agent in the chest, grabbing his gun and swinging it into the head of another man.

Peter took another hit the side before he got his revenge slamming the solider across the chest with the butt of his own gun he wrenched from his grasp. Peter ducked a punch and rolled backward, grabbing the man's legs before he stood, toppling him. 

Two men grabbed him, one punching him in the side as he braced, gritting his teeth. He kicked up, flipping himself over before he pushed off the wall and webbed the two men together. He grabbed and turned the man's gun as he fired it before he shoved it against the man's face, breaking his nose.

"Let's wrap his up guys," Peter wheezed, feeling his adrenaline kick in as his eyesight sharpened.

Peter spun faster, slamming someone's head into the wall and kicking the other to the floor. A butt of the gun hit him right across the face and he furiously and blindly shoved an elbow backwards, feeling something crack under the weight of his blow. Peter flipped smoothly into a round house kick, webbing the man in the shoulder and yanking him down so that his head hit the ground hard. 

Peter webbed the next man up against the wall before he finally swung, blocking the hit aimed for his jaw. Peter retaliated, punching the man right in the face before kneeing him in the groin. In anger he grabbed a fistful of his coat and flipped him up. The guard hit the ceiling and Peter stepped away to let him fall to the ground. 

BANG

Peter moved to the side instinctively and shot a web, slamming the man's head to the ground. The man's broken wrist had held up a pistol and fired it and hit Peter in the shoulder, bouncing off his suit but still hurting. The hallway was silent and Peter lowered his arm. He breathed a sigh that was cut off by a sharp pain in his ribs. 

Peter's vision tunneled and he collapsed against the wall, sliding to the floor, clutching his side in pain. 

_"They are one minute out,"_ FRIDAY directed.

"I just need one minute, so that works...out..." Peter wheezed, pressing his palms against his eyes. The lights were blinding and the hallway was too familiar. Peter sucked in a breath and held it, clenching his fists. 

_Peter was dragged in and thrown to the ground. He rolled onto his side, tears streaming down his face in shock. The sound of the bullet still echoed in his ears, Miles dropping dead, slumping in the doorway right in front of him. There was a bullet in the center of his head, blood dripping down his nose and onto the ground, his eyes staring at Peter in shock, glossed over, never to blink again._

_Peter had dropped his gun at that, stared in shock, which gave the men time to wrestle him down and pin his arms, locking his hands behind his back. Peter's wrists were bleeding from the cuffs he had been in before he was shoved into the room. His lungs were caving in on him, his ears were ringing and he couldn't see straight, but he knew who walked in the door behind him._

_There was laughing behind him as a chair was pulled up behind him. "You thought you could actually get away."_

_"Screw yourself," Peter seethed._

_The chair was toppled and Peter winced at the clanging sound that resonated since his ear was pressed to the ground, but he flinched even more as Hersh grabbed his arm and pulled him up, slamming him against the wall._

_"You think you can escape this Peter?" Hersh demanded, laughing still, pointedly._

_"You killed Miles," Peter sobbed._

_"And we should have killed you too, at least he had the guts to keep moving. How's that bullet hole feel, huh?" Hersh asked, shoving his finger into Peter's healing wound. Peter screwed his eyes shut and screamed in pain, pressing_ _back against the arm on his throat._

_"Miles deserved what he got. It really played out better than i could have planned. Him, betraying you, you still in shock over that or the fact that he landed with a hole in his head 20 feet away?"_

_"You're sick," Peter whispered harshly, fury in gaze._

_"I think it's the second one, because you don't care about yourself anymore," Hersh grinned._

_"Shut up," Peter swore._

_"You still have hope, don't you?" Hersh said sweetly. "You actually thought you were close. You had so much faith you would escape. That everything would be fine and you could just go back to a normal life. Look at me-" he grabbed Peter's chin as he tried to turn away. "Let me break it down for you, you will never escape this life, do you understand me?"_

_Peter was breathing hard, his nostrils flaring, his teeth clenched. "We'll see about that."_

_"You want to know what will happen, if you do get out? If we let you go?" Hersh seethed._

_"You're gonna tell me anyway, what's the point," Peter hissed, trying to tap into his desperately needed humor. He felt exposed. Vulnerable._

_"Do you want to know what will happen?" he demanded. "We will find you. And whoever you talk to, whoever you even look at, we will kill them, slowly, just like we did your parents, do you understand me?"_

_Peter shook his head, trying to block out the voice that echoed in his ears as the arm pushed against his throat, pinning him to the wall. His chest was hot and his lungs burned, his whole body trembling in anger._

_"We control you, how you live your life. Everyone you come in contact with will die."_

_Peter forced tears down and struggled against Hersh's grip, feeling like the weak kid we was when they first took him. He couldn't even push back right, couldn't even find his normal strength. And something told Peter it was psychological, as most of his issues were thanks to this place. He could still glare though. "Not if I kill all of you first."_

_"Are you gonna kill me Peter? Are you gonna kill me? Kill me, go for it. Right now. Break my neck, with your bare hands, do it. You're not even fighting back, are you?" Hersh taunted with a sick smile, pushing him harder into the wall. Peter felt the cold stone digging into his head and he bit the inside of his cheek, controlling his breathing._

_He stayed silent and quiet, not daring to move._

_"No," Hersh hissed at him. "You won't. You can't touch me. You're afraid. You're weak."_

_"I am not weak," Peter choked back._

_"You are," Hersh spit. "You were made to be a weapon."_

_"I was made to be a normal kid! With a family!" Peter shouted, his chest exploding, finally finding the courage to force Hersh off him. "You took that away from me!"  
_

_"I saved you," Hersh swore._

_"Saved me," Peter spit, "You turned me into a killer."_

_"You are a killer!" Hersh shot back. "You have blood on your hands Peter, don't forget that. Emily. Tobias. Ben. Lukas. Rowena-"_

_"Shut up," Peter swore angrily, turning on Hersh with fire his eyes._

_"You can't even accept it. After all this time, you still can't accept it. You're pathetic," he sneered at him. "You want to have guts? You want to be a hero? Want to be a good guy, Peter? You want to save people?"_

_"Screw you," Peter sobbed._

_Hersh took out his gun and pointed it at his chest. "One bullet Pete."_

_Peter glared at him, daring him to do it. Hersh's eyes didn't leave him as he turned the gun to face the ceiling and set it in the center of the room on the floor, the metal scraping the cold stone before laying still. "_ _Think on that," he snarled, stepping back. "Prove me wrong. I know you won't have the guts to pull the trigger."_

_Peter stared at it as he walked out, slamming the door shut behind him._

_Peter looked straight at the gun, his throat closing, his heart pounding. His hands immediately started shaking._

_Hersh was offering him an escape._

_A way out._

_Peter got to his feet and limped over, clutching a hand to his bullet wound. He stood right next to the weapon, looking at it's edges and watching the sides gleam despite there being no light in the room._

_Then Peter let out a laugh. It was the first genuine laugh Peter had ever had since he had arrived and it shocked him. It had relief woven into it, splotches of happiness and disbelief. A tear ran down his cheek and Peter blinked._

_He bent slowly, collapsing to his knees, his hand shaking as he reached out, hovering over the gun. Hersh had said he wouldn't pull the trigger. Maybe he didn't know Peter as well as he thought he did. His chest grew warm at that possibility._

_For once his mind was silent. His side barely hurt. For once Peter knew what to do. He knew what the right thing to do was._

_He actually had a choice this time. He was offered a choice, and it had no loopholes, it had no illusions, it was just a decision for him to make. It wasn't a game, it wasn't Hersh's illusion. The gun was real. The choice was real. And he could make it._

_Peter blinked and his shaking hand touched the gun, his fingers barely skimming the barrel. The cold metal made his fingers twitch as his hands itched to form in their correct spots out of habit. That urge only made his decision solidify._

_He knew what he had to do._

_Peter had made up his mind the minute Hersh had set the gun down._

_Peter had outsmarted him._

_Peter had won. He had finally won. It didn't matter if it was his last battle._

_With a deep breath of closure, a small twitch of his lip that turned into a smirk, Peter's fingers curled around the gun and he raised it, staggering to his feet quickly._

_And it was then that his world fell apart. Immediately, he knew, and his face broke. His heart stopped. Peter lowered the gun from where he had been aiming it at his chest, staring down the barrel, ready to pull the trigger. His breath caught in his throat and his chest grew cold. Peter's vision zeroed on the gun in his hands._

_Did he actually think he would get to pull the trigger?_

_Peter held it in his hands with t_ e _ars in his eyes, and he looked up a second later with more hate than he had ever had._

_In a fit of anger, with gritted teeth that held back a choked yell, he chucked the gun as hard as he could at the window, shattering the bulletproof glass with the strength he used. Peter straightened, breathing hard. On the other side of the broken window Hersh looked down at the gun lying at his feet and he bent to pick it up, his eyes gleaming._

_Peter was breathing hard and he choked out, "It's sad how well I know the weight of a gun." Peter shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "You bastard-," he sobbed. "It was a blank."_

Peter gasped and clawed at the floor, shaking as he snapped himself out of the flashback. Peter felt tears running down his cheeks and he cursed loudly, punching the wall to his side, making a dent in the concrete. He wiped them away and took a shaky breath, holding his side. 

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. 

The hallway was too familiar.

The men with their uniforms, and their guns, and their cuffs dangling from their belts- it was all the same.

Peter put his legs to his chest and ducked his head down, breathing hard. He pushed his hands against his temples, squeezing his eyes shut before he gasped for breaths, begging his lungs not to close. Peter's eyesight was being overrun by white spots and he blinked harshly, putting his hands out as he staggered to his feet. 

No, don't do it, he begged himself.

But he knew how to stop it.

He knew how to snap himself back.

Let the red seep in. 

Peter punched the wall, breaking off the concrete and bloodying his knuckle. His vision became less fuzzy. Peter saw a tint of red. A warning...that he wouldn't heed. 

No.

Don't, he told himself. 

Peter punched the wall a second time, again, more concrete shattering. It fell to the ground, crumbling and Peter punched again, and again, his eyesight getting more and more red, his breathing steadying, his lungs opening and filling with air again as his panic attack ceased, but now he couldn't stop. 

He couldn't even feel the sting of his hands anymore. The clenched fists, with blood streaming down the back of them, it felt normal... it kept him focused. He saw the guns lying on the ground and he punched the wall again. The men were just unconscious after all, they weren't dead yet.

They should die for what they did. Who knows who they hurt. He was back here after all, where he was trained to be a killer. Not trained- shown. Shown he was a killer.

No.

Keep punching Peter. 

His last resort had suddenly become his savior as Peter kept punching the wall, desperately, because the sting in his hands, his knuckles almost breaking was better than the alternative playing out in his mind. Tears streamed down his face. Red swallowed his vision and Peter turned furiously, his hands clenched, knuckles bleeding. He felt like he did that night at the broken down building...so much rage that it blinded him from what he-

_"KID! So help me if you don't answer your coms-"_

Peter blinked and gasped for breath, staggering, his senses failing him in that moment. Hands were clawing at thin air until he hit the wall, taking a deep inhale and looking at his bloodied knuckles in shock. He blinked again and his vision returned to normal and he looked around at the empty hallway, sliding to a floor among the broken concrete. 

_"PETER I swear to God-"_

"I'm here," he gulped, pressing his hand to his ear before he continued staring at his knuckles. "I'm here," he repeated numbly. "I'm good. I'm ok. Where are you guys?"

_"We're just outside. Kid, you ok?"_

"Yeah, I'm good now," he said firmly, steadying his breathing. What happened a couple seconds ago immediately felt like it was 4 years away. He took a deep breath and walked over to the door, pressing some buttons on the control panel so he could manually open it. His suit extended over his hands so he could hide the ripped knuckles and also get a better grip on the door.

 _"Knock knock,"_ Tony said through coms. 

"Who's there?" Peter groaned, pulling the side with all of his might, wrenching it open. The Avengers filed in, Peter relieved to see familiar faces. Tony immediately found him, helping Peter hold the door open. After everyone entered, he and Peter slammed it shut and Tony's helmet receded to his neck. 

He grabbed Peter by the shoulders and looked him once over, "You good?"

"Yeah," Peter nodded breathlessly, clasping his arms. "I'm good."

Tony, clearly tremendously relieved, nodded back. Steve patted Peter on the shoulder and grinned, "Good work kid."

"Ok guys, the party is far from over, we've got stuff to do," Nat said, reloading her pistols. 

"I don't see how this is a party?" Tony grinned. 

"Touche Stark," she grinned. 

"Let's go," Steve said, gripping his shield. 

Peter yanked off the HYDRA uniform, ripping the coat and pants, revealing his iron spider suit that gleamed in the hallway. His helmet closed over his head and the eyes lit up. He narrowed them and nodded at Tony, "Let's end this."

"FRIDAY give me a heat scan of the building?" Tony asked. It popped up on his display and he nodded, announcing, "Most heat sources are coming from the west wing."

"Well I say we go pay them a visit," Clint said, notching an arrow. 

"Steve, where's SHIELD in all of this?" Wanda asked. 

Steve looked over his shoulder as they jogged, "They've been monitoring the entrances and exits of the radius we set up."

Vision nodded, "They should be a couple minutes behind us."

"Let's keep it that way, I hate sharing," Tony grumbled. 

"Agreed." Steve swung his shield, knocking a door off it's hinges and Sam and Rhodey stepped through first, guns pointed, scanning the hallway before they continued forward. 

Tony stalled and let the majority of the team pass him; Peter had slowly inched towards the back. He continued walking when Peter passed him, walking side by side. "You good kid?"

"I don't like having people behind me," he explained firmly. 

"Ok, well there's no way I'm letting you stay back here alone. Cool if I stay?" he asked. It wasn't a question. 

"Free country."

Tony looked over at Peter and nudged him gently in the shoulder as they walked, "You ok? Something you're not telling me?" There were a lot of things Peter wasn't telling him, he knew that. 

"Just...really weird to be back. Like a messed up high school reunion," Peter scoffed with no humor. 

"Yeah, well nothing's gonna happen to you, especially not here," Tony said firmly. 

Peter was about to say something else when suddenly there was a sudden jolt of the building. Everyone steadied themselves and looked around nervously. Nat ran to the window across the far room and looked down. "What the-"

"What the heck is going on down there?" Bucky demanded, tightening his grip on his gun. 

_"I've confirmed highly explosive material in that truck,"_ FRIDAY warned as Tony made his way over. The truck was crashed into the side of the building, the front crumpled. _"It was supposed to explode but something went wrong."_

"They were gonna try and topple the building with that blast," Clint muttered.

"Lunatics," Wanda snarled.

But the more pressing issue were men a couple ways away with some pretty big guns, setting one massive one up to fire at the window.

Tony sighed, "I'll take care of this." He crashed through the window and aimed his missile, hovering in mid air. He aimed a bomb at the gun just as it fired. There was a massive explosion as the two weapons collided midair and Tony straightened himself, feeling bullets still ping against his suit. He flew back, landing on a jog in the center of the hallway.

Everyone was backed up to the other side just in case there was a ricochet. Nat peaked over and shook her head, "Stragglers. They must have gotten the call just now. Always people coming to the event late."

The lights went dark red, an alarm sounding and everyone turned to Peter for answers.

"Great," Rhodey cursed. 

Steve pointed worriedly, "What does that mean?"

"Nothing good," Peter said firmly. "We need to get to that truck. And someone needs to get to upper level. Whoever's there may be planning an escape. The last compound didn't have one, this one might."

"I'm leading a team up," Steve said firmly, starting down the hallway, "Tony, can you take care of the truck and the rest of the guys?"

"On it," Tony said, his helmet flipping down. "Rhodes, Peter- not a negotiation, Nat and Clint, with me. The rest of you guys go with Steve." 

The team nodded and split and Tony shattered the remainder of the window he had already broken for a safe trip down. He pointed, "Nat, get on the ground with Rhodes. Take cover. Clint stay up here and pick them off. Peter, with me, we're gonna take care of that truck."

Everyone nodded and Tony fired up his boots, shooting forward, shooting a beam that lit up the ground, knocking guards back from their guns. 

Peter swung, following him and Tony landed on the roof of the truck, blasting the man in the driver's seat who was already half unconscious, his foot pressed full onto the gas, the car stuck, half in the wall. It's hood was smashed up against the building. Suddenly his suit jerked forward on his own, his hand pressing against the gas, hitting his head on the steering wheel. He groaned and tried to yank his hand off, "FRIDAY, what the heck?"

 _"The entire truck is a bomb, releasing the pedal for more than 3 seconds will start a timer and the entire car will blow,"_ FRIDAY reported. 

Tony groaned, feeling bullets bounce off his back and he snarled, "That's just great." He shot blindly behind him, yelling, "Peter! Where are you kid? Get in the car!" 

He turned over his shoulder and fired a beam at his enemies, knocking them all backwards. Peter swung down and kicked one of the men Tony missed in the head, knocking him to the ground as he launched himself forward, vaulting over Tony's back into the driver's seat.

"What do I do?" Peter yelled, gripping the wheel nervously. 

"Foot on gas," Tony instructed and Peter picked the right medal and pressed down. Tony's helmet flipped up and he grinned, "You're gonna drive."

"I don't even have my permit!" Peter shouted back. 

"Have you ever driven before?" Tony asked. 

"Oh yeah, loads of times," Peter sneered, "right between waterboarding and shock torture."

"I've never told you how much I admire your sense of humor in all this," Tony said. 

"Love the flattery, but right now," Peter said urgently, his voice slightly higher than normal, "I'm in a car. I don't know how to drive, and if I'm going to be completely honest, I'm kinda freaking out right now."

"I'm gonna teach you," Tony said firmly, slipping into the passengers seat and breaking the door off, blasting a man who was firing at them. "Ok you see the stick?"

"What? Tony, you're gonna need to be a little more specific than that," he said worridly. 

Tony fired a blast and kicked the car door into an approaching agent. "You see the thing by your side, by your right hand? Look down. Your other right- there we go."

"Yeah, got it, got it," Peter said, gripping it with his hand. 

Tony leaned out the truck and fired again before calling over his shoulder, "You see the letter R?"

"Yeah," Peter said quickly after narrowing his eyes.

"Ok, listen to me very carefully." Tony said breathlessly, smacking away a grenade and watching it blow up in the sky. He scoffed suddenly, "They've got grenade launchers? What the-"

"Tony!" Peter yelled.

"Right, sorry. You're on the gas right now, trying to go forward but oh would you look at that- there's a wall. So you can't. You have 3 seconds to do what I'm about to tell you. Any more seconds and the truck is gonna blow. You got it? 3 seconds."

"Yep," Peter said firmly. 

"You're gonna take the same foot off the gas and push down on the other pedal down there. You see it?"

"The bigger one, yeah," Peter confirmed. 

Tony got hit in the shoulder by a nasty bullet and he cursed, groaning, "Yeah, the 'bigger one'. You're gonna press that down and pull the stick to R. And then you're gonna slam you're foot on the gas. Got that? And don't stop until I tell you what to do."

"Ok, here goes," Peter said firmly. He pushed the brake and the truck stopped trying to bury itself into the wall. Then his hand flew to the stick. Peter stuck his tongue out and sucked in a breath as he pressed the gas. Tony tightened his grip on the truck. Suddenly he was yanked back, his feet leaving the ground and he cursed, finding his footing on the edge of the truck as it sped in reverse. 

"Holy- TONY! You didn't tell me I was going backwards!" Peter yelled at him, yanking the wheel. 

"What did you think R meant?" Tony said back angrily. 

"Anything but reverse!" Peter yelled. "I've never driven before!"

"Small motions-" Tony called out, "Small motions with the wheel! STOP THE CAR!" Tony blasted rubble out of their path, the truck weaving in and out as Peter yanked the wheel. "BRAKE!" He repeated more angrily.

This time, Peter slammed his foot down on the brake and Tony hit the dash hard and spluttered, "Push it to D and drive!"

"Big pedal again?" Peter asked, looking under the wheel.

3 seconds- Tony yelled, "SMALL!"

"Got it!" Peter looked down, gripped the stick, and he yanked it down, slamming his foot onto the gas, spinning the wheel. The truck tilted and Tony almost fell off but he maintained his grip, holding on with one hand and aiming his tracking scanner, firing a missile at a truck. It blew up behind them and Tony whooped, turning his attention back to the teen. 

"Ok, this is called a steering wheel-" Tony spoke calmly. 

"I don't care what it's called- Tony tell me how the HECK to drive!" Peter shouted furiously. 

"Left goes left, right goes right!" Tony shouted. 

"THANK YOU!" Peter yelled. 

Tony slid into the seat next to him and blasted the windshield off; it was cracked from a spiderweb shatter in the center. Peter swerved around the truck Peter had blown up. Tony looked in the back of the truck and cursed. "We gotta get this away from the building."

Peter yanked the wheel to the side and hit the brake, the end of the car slamming into a small connex that some men were hiding on top of. 

"This isn't grand theft auto, what are you doing?" Tony demanded. 

Peter whirled to look at him angrily, "I don't even know what that is!"

"THREE SECONDS! Why are you hitting the brake-" Tony shouted. 

"Shut up!" Peter said furiously, putting the car back in drive and flooring the gas, sending them lurching forward. As they spun, they suddenly drove forward just as a man on the other side of the tarmac fired a grenade that arced, heading straight for the truck. 

Tony cussed and Peter panicked, hitting the lever on the side. The windshield wipers started.

"WHAT THE F-" Peter yelled angrily, yanking them off with a well placed web.

Tony blasted the grenade at the top of his arc and ducked, covering Peter's head as they drove below the firey cloud. "That was close-" Peter yanked the wheel again, barely avoiding the side of the building, pressing his foot hard on the gas, his knuckles white as he gripped the wheel. "Easy, easy-" Tony chided. Peter glared at him and he gave him a stressed smile. "Hey, you're doing great kid. Easy on the gas- brake- not that hard-"

"Stop talking," Peter said firmly. "How do we blow this up without dying?"

"Drive straight. I'm gonna tackle you out of the car once we get far enough away," Tony decided. 

"Sounds like a stupid plan," Peter said nervously. 

"It probably is. You got a better idea?" Tony asked saltily. 

"No," Peter grumbled.

"Exactly," Tony said, gripping the sides of the truck and looking behind them at the compound. "Ok, we're far enough, you ready?"

"Get me out of this death trap," Peter grumbled, his fingers clenched around the wheel.

"Ok, let off in three, two, one-" He fired up his boots as Peter let go of the steering wheel and his foot left the gas. Tony's helmet came up and he shoved Peter out of the car as the truck continued forward. Tony fired up his boots to get them further away and he pitched forward. 

They hit the concrete painfully and rolled. Tony grabbed the teen as they slid to a stop, putting his arm up to shield Peter as the truck exploded a little ways behind them. The ground rumbled and cracked from the force. Tony and Peter covered their heads as a tire hit the ground inches away from their faces. 

Breathing hard, they looked up from the tarmac and admired their work. 

"Well that's the most stressful driving experience I've ever had. I don't think I was quite that bad when my dad first took me for a drive, no offense," Tony said with a small smile, punching him lightly in the arm. 

"I'm never...getting into a car...again," Peter said, rolling onto his back, exhausted. 

Tony laughed and helped him to his feet, steadying him. "We're not done."

"Who said I was tired?" Peter countered. 

Tony grinned, "Fair enough."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL you thought! We will never know what happened in Budapest :( but we got tony and peter driving, who says we wont have the father and son playing catch just not in the way you think, just like the driving- which I gotta say was such a blast to write  
> .  
> And I hope you liked the flashback????? Thank you to make_your_ own_ world for bearing with me on that one haha ;) The next chapter will have less humor, which is why this one was a little funny. It's gonna get intense and maybe a little dark, similar to the flashback. Basically Peter's world crumbles down and everything that we've built up...lets just say it's tipping. Will it fall? Idkkkkkk  
> As of right now I have no idea when the next chapter is coming out, it has been crazy. But I will try to get it out ASAP. Pleaseee let me know what you thought, I really appreciate all ur feedback and comments, they keep me going and I love hearing for you guys. Thank you so much for reading. Stay healthy!  
> I love you all 3000 <3 <3


	21. What's Dead Should Stay Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo lovely readers! Yall are the best :)  
> Well I've got school off for a while, I bet some of yall do too so first off stay healthy!!! Also! You can expect (hopefully) more frequent chapters! This one wasn't too long of a wait so yayyyy I'm proud. Thank you all for sticking with this- it's about to get so so so so crazy. I have so much planned. (Elliot Khols gotta be in here, some bad people gotta die maybe some good people too I haven’t decided yet I mean what?, the cliffhanger in this chapter is gonna affect a lot, and a bunchhhhh of stuff has got to happen because of certain betrayals) oh yeah Sorry about the ciffhanger in advance. Haha <3  
> I hope you all have a great day and I really hope you enjoy the chapter. Not a lot of Tony and Peter but that's coming up I promise!!! Thank you for all your support, I love hearing from you guys and this fic is SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE.  
> So I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Tony and Peter ran to meet Rhodey and Nat who had met together by the edge of the building, surveying their damage. 

"We all good?" Tony asked firmly, clapping Rhodes on the shoulder who nodded.

"Piece of cake. Good driving Peter."

"Shut up," Peter grinned. 

_"All clear guys,"_ Clint relayed from his perch.

"Shall we?" Rhodey asked. Nat grabbed onto this shoulder as he took off and Tony gave Peter a lift. They landed back where they started on level 3, gathering in a circle as Clint walked over, notching an arrow and nodding towards the door that Cap and the rest of their team had went down. "What's the plan?"

"We need to regroup with Cap and get back inside. FRIDAY, locate Rogers," Tony said firmly. 

"As far as we know, the only HYDRA left are on that third level where we sent Cap," she said. "The ground level is clear and so is level 2."

"FRIDAY?" Tony asked again, concerned if his A.I. didn't hear him. 

_"Sir I'm trying but his tracking is turned off. More like blocked,"_ she said in confusion. 

"Why the heck would Rogers turn off his tracking?" Tony asked nervously. He shook his head. "Can you get Vision or Wanda? Or anyone else?"

_"No, theirs are off as well."_

"Interference maybe?" Peter guessed. "There could have been a jammer when they passed a certain point. I wouldn't be surprised."

"Ok, well we don't have time to worry about that now. Let's catch up to them," Rhodey said, his helmet closing down. They passed through the door and looked at the dead or unconscious HYDRA agents littering the hallway. 

"Follow the bodies," Nat said grimly as they ran. 

_"The door to your left sir,"_ FRIDAY said. 

Tony turned and saw a crumpled section of wall, the door knocked off, flat on the ground beside it. The hallway past it was dark and the rusty gate in the center was bent in. The lights flickered. 

"Ok, well, I guess I'll go first down the creepy hallway," Tony said firmly, starting forward with his palm out, Rhodey bringing up the rear with Peter. Nat and Clint had their guns and bow and arrow out, ready to strike. Tony stepped through the gate. The hallway they had entered was slightly larger than the first one. There were doors on either side, both kicked in, with HYDRA agents slumped on the floor or in chairs. The rest of their team had defiantly been here. 

Peter suddenly tensed, his hair standing up on his end and looked around, his heart starting to beat faster. His gaze found a lamp and he stared at it. The light flickered, Peter's eyes adjusting to the brightness as he peered at it. 

"What is it kid?" Rhodey asked, making Peter jump as he touched his shoulder . 

Peter narrowed his eyes and then shook his head, blinking and turning away, "Nothing. Nothing. False alarm."

_The camera blinked behind the flickering light, the display on the big screen in front of them._

_"That's him," the man pointed to the boy who was staring at the light with narrowed eyes. "We have confirmation."_

_"It better be after we let the first team through," the other man said firmly, holding his breath until the teenager shook his head and looked away, continuing on down the hallway. So close to being discovered. "They don't know about the basement level or they would have gone there first," he said, referring to the first team of 5 they had let through the hallway._

_"Let's keep it that way," the other man said cockily, standing tall with his hands clasped in front of him. "What's Captain America's progress?" he asked, staring at the footage they had looped of the boy in disgust. The boy they all knew. All hated. Peter Parker. The one who escaped. Who threatened the very existence of the organization. The one who could not be broken._

_"They are chasing the lead on level 3," the other man said, looking over at the rest of the cameras that tracked Captain America and his team, fighting and taking down men, expendable men, closing on a lead that didn't exist. "Our partners have hacked their heat source scanners. No suspicions as of yet."_

_"Good." Then he pressed his hand to his ear. "Sir, phase 3 is complete," he relayed. Then he pointed, "We will have a team move in as quick as possible, once the two have reunited. Are our associates ready with their strike?"_

_"Yes. And the Avengers do not suspect anything about the betrayal. But we have to separate them first," he said squinting, and tapping his fingers on the screen against the boy and Iron Man. "Tony Stark poses a serious threat."_

_"Not when he's fighting someone else," the man said quietly. "Don't just separate the boy. Take out the last two. If we get them to turn on each other..."_

_"They are passing intercept point soon. I'll have them in 5 seconds."_

Peter could not shake a feeling. His hair had been standing straight up, shivers were running up and down his spine, and he was looking around every 5 seconds. Something was wrong. 

Tony groaned and blasted through a door, looking through into the next room, "Empty. You think Cap came here too?"

"Too empty," Peter said under his breath. 

Tony, Nat, and Clint stepped through the door when suddenly Peter's spider senses spiked. He scrambled back as a metal door came crashing down from above him. The door cut between them, slamming into the ground, cutting him off from Tony who whipped around with horror on his face. The ground rumbled and Peter's ears rang as he got to his feet, panic kicking in.

"What the-" Rhodey cursed next to Peter. 

"TONY!" Peter yelled, feeling the metal barrier and slamming his fist against the door in panic. The room already felt smaller. His breathing sped up. He was on the wrong side of the door. "TONY!" he screamed again. 

"PETE!" Tony yelled back. "PETER! RHODES! You guys ok?" Tony shouted back from behind. 

"What the heck happened?" Clint demanded, his voice muffled. 

"Yeah, we're fine. We must have hit something, or maybe there was a circuit shortage," Rhodey said, looking around for any control panel. 

Peter shook his head, looking at the door and punching it once, knowing it was useless. "Tony this is the titanium I was talking about. You can't break through this."

Tony cursed on the other side. "We'll just find a way around- I could blast under-"

Just then the lights went out. Peter flinched, spinning in darkness, a pit in his stomach. He gulped it down, his hands starting to shake. "Karen, night vision." His world was lit up in green and black and he turned to Rhodey who was shaking his head. 

"I don't like this," he said, looking around, putting out his palm which glowed. "Tony? What do we do?"

_"Successful separation sir," the man on the left relayed._

_"Give the word to our associates," he grinned. "Open fire."_

"Well we could-"

Suddenly the ground shifted. Peter steadied himself, the floor rumbling from an impact. "What was that?"

"I don't like this," Nat said from the other side of the door. "Does anyone know what that was?"

"I know everything goes wrong during a plan, but that was too wrong," Clint's voice rang out. 

Peter turned around. Rhodey started forward, scanning the wall, "Tony, maybe we can find a weak spot."

Meanwhile Peter had his eyes closed and he was walking down the hallway, his closed eyes moving side to side as he listened. The ground shook underneath his feet but he forced himself to focus. A small buzz was in his ear, faint, but existent. Rhodey and Tony's voices echoed behind him but Peter tried to block them out. He turned suddenly and opened his eyes, staring at the light he had stopped at a couple minutes ago. It was out, pitch black, no longer flickering, but the buzz was still coming from somewhere behind it.

Peter curled his fist and punched, shattering the bulb. A small blinking light was behind the glass, in the wall and Peter's eyes widened. His head snapped to the side as a high pitched whistle sounded and he started running at Rhodey, slamming his fists against the door. 

"TONY! Tony listen to me- it's a trap- it's a trap- they've been watching us! Get out of here go- they're gonna blow the compound-"

Tony slammed against the door, pounding as hard as he could, and Peter heard him yell his name. Then Tony yelled, "Rhodes, Rhodes, stay with Peter- Rhodey, you don't let them get him you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you buddy," Rhodey said back firmly, grabbing Peter's arm. "Come on, kid, we gotta go."

Peter staggered back with him, running down the hallway as Peter heard Tony still trying to break through with no avail, Natasha firing shots that just fell as they hit. Peter gasped, turning and looking at the wall. He grabbed Rhodey and stopped him, yanking him back as something blasted through the concrete and landed at their feet.

"PETER!" Tony yelled. 

Peter squeezed his eyes shut and braced. 

Peter hates the silence between the blast.

The millisecond of silence.

He sucks in a breath and then he sees a huge white light blow up right in front of him. He yelled, Rhodey grabbing him as they were both blown backward, their feet lifting off the ground. Peter's scream is muffled and he puts his hands up instinctively, fire roaring down the hallway towards him. The entire hallway exploded, the ceiling caving and the floor dropping out from under them as a second explosion happens below them. The fire consumes the hallway above their heads as he and Rhodey tumbled down. Peter lost his grip and yelled, "RHODES!"

Rhodey tried to fire up his boosters but was hit in the back by a section of falling ceiling.

"NO!" Peter screamed, reaching and missing. He disappeared from Peter's sight and Peter cursed, flailing his arms, shooting webs but it was no use. Everything around him was falling. 

Peter just has time to thank God he has Iron Spider suit. If he was in his old one, he would have been done for. The spider legs spread, and Peter's neck goes flying back as he's forcibly bounced off the second level's ground. He groans but he'll take it over breaking his spine.

Peter can’t breath; his lungs are tight. He hits a section of ground and two of the spider legs snap from the pressure. He topples over on his stomach, clawing at the ground before he raises his gaze to look over at the window that's ahead of him, half of it shattered. 

There's a missle heading right at him. Peter shouts and lets go, sliding down the tilting floor as it crashed through the glass, whistles over his head and explodes above him, sending him flying forward. Peter screams and curls up as he slams through a wall, bouncing off and going tumbling, falling into the next floor. He feels a rib break at that impact and Peter wheezes, trying to keep his eyes open. Everything is on fire and the explosions are still coming, they haven't stopped, and they're hitting the entire compound.

Debris hits him and he gets smacked into another wall, starting to lose conciousness as he's tossed around, weightless, unable to get his bearings. He can’t tell if Karen is talking to him, he can’t even breath. He closes his eyes again, the swirling room making him dizzy, and Peter’s too weak to even try and shoot a web to stop himself, not that it would do any good. There is nothing to hold onto, nothing to save him.

The spider legs wrap around him as he tumbles, head over heels, hitting the ground, the ceiling and sliding down a collapsing floor to what seemed to be the bottom level. Half of the spider legs are broken and Peter screamed for Karen to take them off as loud as he could, even though it only came out as a croak. He knew very well he could snap his back if he was pitched to the side with one leg remaining. They sink back into his suit and Peter frantically shoots a web in desperation. It attaches to the nearest ceiling as Peter flails.

But it's too late.

He hits the ground hard on his back, his head smacking against the floor. Dust and dirt rise up around him.

Peter groans, tears biting at his eyes. He gasps and coughs, his lungs burning to take in oxygen. His ears are ringing from the blast. There’s fire all around him, at least that’s what Peter thinks the yellow and orange flickers are. His eyesight is blurry and Peter blinks, realizing his mask is half ripped off his face. He wills the rest of his beat up mask to recede to his neck and Peter coughs, crying out in pain as he grips the ground, trying to steady himself. There’s smoke everywhere and Peter’s head is spinning.

"K-Karen?" Peter whispers, coughing again.

 _"Peter-"_ she responds, his display breaking up.

"How am I doing?"

 _"Not good,_ " she says slowly. 

"Figures," he groans. 

He probably has a concussion and his chest is burning and in pain. Broken ribs he has felt before. Broken nose that has red, warm blood dripping down his face. A gash on the side of his head isn't helping his dizziness and failing vision. Peter blinks, trying to stop everything from spinning and moves his hand shakily, flexing his fingers before he attempts to roll over, but not before he sees it.

"Oh-" Peter chokes, falling back onto his back and lifting his head. Some sort of metal is sticking out of his side and Peter takes a deep breath through his clogged nose, exhaling shakily. He grits his teeth and forces himself up.

 _"Just keep breathing,"_ Karen says helpfully.

"Yeah," Peter winces. "That's the plan."

_"On a normal occasion I would advice not taking it out. But considering your healing abilities, I will make an exception."_

"No offense Karen, but I would have done it anyway," he grinned weakly.

His fingers hover over the piece of debris before he clenches it with his fist, looks away and squeezes his eyes shut. Exhaling quickly, he yanks it out, gulping down a scream. Peter looks up, gritting his teeth and punching the ground.

"Ok, ok, ok. It's not that bad, it's not that bad-" he hissed. Peter grips the piece of metal in his hand and stares at it with distaste before he tosses it aside. Then Peter clasps a hand against his side before he shifts his position, ducking his head into his chest, breathing hard. He brings his fingers to his palm a couple times, webbing up the wound and Peter collapsed onto his back again. 

He's looking up at sky that seems a million miles away, a hole blown through the entire compound that he had just fallen through. 

"Karen, track Rhodes. He should be close."

 _"Searching on getting a signal and establishing coms,"_ she reports calmly. _"He's above you."_

Just then Peter hears his name being called. He staggers forward, gritting his teeth and looks around. 

"Peter! Where are you kid-" It's Rhodes. Peter sees him become visible on the level up. 

Peter shoots a web at a rock by his feet and yanks it down, croaking, "Hey. Bout time you showed up."

Rhodey fires up his beat up suit, his thruster spluttering as he descends, staggering to meet Peter in the center. As he landed, the thruster sputtered and sparked out for good.

"Thank God," Rhodey says.

Peter smiles weakly, but he can't help but admit his breathing sounds awful: raspy and slow, and Peter coughs again, holding his arm up to his face to try and filter out some bits of smoke. His lungs are burning but it is good to see a familiar face and he feels a small sliver of relief as Rhodey supports him.

"You ok kid?" Rhodey asks nervously. 

Peter grins weakly, holding his side as he clasps Rhodey's arm with his other hand. He looked up at the building floor he had fallen from and smirks, "So far so good."

"You're spending too much time with Tony," Rhodey says weakly, looping Peter's arm around his shoulder. "How bad?"

"I'll live," Peter admits, not really answering his question. 

"We need to get back up there. And we need to find out who fired those dang missiles." He shakes his head, "It couldn't have been HYDRA," Rhodey says firmly. "We did surveillance. They don't have that kind of tech."

"But we know people who do," Peter says slowly, looking up at Rhodes whose face falls.

He curses, "Son of a-" 

_"Sir?" The man tightens his tie and knocks on the door._

_"Yes, come in."_

_The sign he passes reads Board of Directors. SHIELD. He walks quickly to the head of the table where the director is seated. "We have confirmation sir. Multiple hits. Phase 3 is complete. Should I give the word to move to Phase 4?"_

_"Yes," the director nods. "And tell our teams they are now allowed to shoot to kill."_

_"Yes sir," the man nods, turning to exit the room but he's called back._

_"Tell Caine that we will expect our terms to be met by 10 am tomorrow. You are sure the Avengers did not suspect us yet?" he asks firmly._

_"On the ship we set up for them to take, we placed a bug. They simply think it was a mole in the Board that alerted HYDRA about the mission," the man reported proudly, holding his head high._

_The director nodded proudly with satisfaction. "And the agents on the mission to destroy the Quinn Jet?"_

_"Captured and currently being held. What would you like me to do with them?" he asked nervously._

_"Dispose of them. They are no use to us," he waved his hand._

_The man nodded slowly and then added, "Captain America is still on route to Level 3- or at least he and his team were before the missiles were launched."_

_"And the boy?" Someone else asked, rubbing their chin. They put out their hand, expressing their concern. "What happened to him?"_

_"They have successfully separated him from Tony Stark. Caine is waiting for him basement level. They are about to take him into their custody."_

_"So they have no idea about the basement yet?" one of the woman nodded._

_"No, not that we know of. Caine and his associate are waiting there," the man said, pushing up his glasses on his nose. "Fury, however, is still...missing. We don't know where he is."_

_"We don't need to worry about Nick," the director smiles. "We are to far in for him to make a dent." He turned to his associates. "Congratulations ladies and gentlemen. Hail HYDRA."_

_The Board smiles and begins to clap, echoing him strongly, "Hail HYDRA."_

Clint and Nat ran, jumping across the break in the floor. They had gotten up after the first hit and ran, avoiding the ceiling that was falling around them and the floor that was collapsing under their feet. 

"Where's Tony?" Nat yelled, covering her head as the hallway around them crumbled. 

"I don't know! He got blasted-" Clint said back, ducking as the ceiling caved. 

"We're running nowhere-" Nat said breathlessly. 

"We need to get down- take this next right and slide- we'll die if we stay up so high-" Clint said firmly. 

They sprinted around the corner and stopped short. Nat grabbed Clint's jacket, fisting it to stop him. They peered over the edge. The floor had sunken in and the glass next to them was shattered, wind blowing in from outside. 

"Clint!" Nat suddenly yelled, her red hair whipping across her face as she stared out the window in horror. They both spun; another missile was heading towards them from the outside. 

"Jump!" Clint shouted. They lunged forward, dropping down at the hallway above them exploded. Fire raged on either side as they hit the bottom floor which promptly gave way, sending them tumbling. Head over heels they went, sliding as the floor fell.

The ground opened up and Nat twisted midair, launching a grappling hook. It locked onto the side of the building and she latched the other end to Clint's belt. He grabbed Nat's hand as they fell into open air. Clint gripped the wire as it locked, yanking on his arm, stopping their fall. 

He yelled in pain, Nat dangling from his grasp. He groaned, gripping her hand hard, as he looked down. It was too far of a drop.

"Screw you," he hissed. The wire was attached to him, not her. If he let her go, she would fall, he wouldn't. 

"Clint-" Nat says softly, looking down, "You can't hold on for long. Let me go."

"Not a chance. You don't know if you'll make it." he says firmly, straining to keep his grip on her hand. "Don't you dare Nat, you hear me? I'll just-"

"Clint, we've been trying to do one thing: get to right here. That's what it's been about. Stopping HYDRA. We have a shot. But you won't die because of me," she said, shaking her head.

"Oh, don't you get all decent on me now," Clint cursed, looking up and trying to adjust his grip. He couldn't take both hands off the wire for too long. He strained, his arm on fire; it felt like it was tearing itself apart. His other fingers clutched the grappling wire desperately. 

"What, you think I wanna do it? I'm trying to save your life, you idiot," she smiled weakly. 

Clint winced, groaning before he spluttered, "Yeah, well, I don't want you to, because I– Natasha, you know what I've done."

"Are we comparing records or something? You know mine's darker than yours. And I don't judge people on their worst mistakes," she said, locking eyes with him, her legs kicking in midair.

Clint groaned, his arm dipping. Sweat dripped down his forehead and his fingers were aching but he was determined to keep them locked until he couldn't anymore. He held onto her hand for all he was worth, feeling her fingers slipping. His heart was pounding but instead he winked, trying to remain calm, "Maybe you should."

"You didn't," she said quietly. 

Clint looked up at the wire. Nat's hand was slipping and he smiled in worry, "You're a pain in my butt, you know that?"

"That's my job," Nat said with a smirk, staring to twist her hand out of his grasp, letting go of his wrist so it was only him holding onto her. "Clint, CLINT!" she pleaded, gritting her teeth as she fought against his hand. He tightened his grip on her arm, shaking his head. 

"Stop! Nat, STOP!" He yelled desperately, his voice cracking. Tears formed in his eyes as he set his jaw, groaning in pain as he tried to pull her up.

"Let me go," she said calmly, smiling at him. 

"No- please- no," he begged, her hand slipping out of his grasp. "Don't-"

"It's okay," she whispered. 

"Not to me," Clint said firmly. He released his grip on the wire and reached down to his belt, ignoring the horrible pain in his waist. "Nat, you're gonna grab onto me, got it? Just whatever you don't let go. We're gonna take some tips from Peter."

"Clint- no- stop!" she said, furiously kicking but Clint held onto her hand tighter than he ever had. "Don't be stupid," she hissed furiously. 

Clint grinned and started to undo his vest. He unclipped the latch and his stomach dropped as he let himself slip. They fell and Clint twisted in freefall, grabbing an arrow and notching it on his bow that he slung off. He released it, letting it fly. It sank into a firm section of wall and the cord tightened. 

Nat held onto his waist and he had both hands on his bow as they swung towards the wall. Clint hit a button and released the hook. They were dropped harshly and he yelped as they landed on the ground, rolling from the impact, sliding to a stop in the center of the room. 

Natasha groaned, pushing Clint over, untangling herself. 

Clint groaned on his back, "I don't get...how Peter...does that." He accepted the hand that Natasha offered to him, and he was pulled to his feet. "Well that was fun-"

Natasha slapped him across the face. "Don't you ever do that again," she demanded. 

"What, save you?" Clint demanded. 

"I saved you first," she hissed. 

"Great! Now we're even!" he yelled back. He shook his head and spoke firmly. Nat pursed her lips and nodded. Clint put his hands on her arms and they pressed their foreheads against each other. "Nat, I would have never let you fall," he said. 

"I'm flattered," she said with a slight smirk. He laughed and notched an arrow, motioning to the still standing hallway. "We should try and regroup with the others."

Natasha nodded, grabbing her two pistols from her holsters and quickly reloading them. "We're all turned around. I don't know which way is which."

"Well let's just start walking then," he said. "No one's on coms. And we won't do them any good if we don't know where they are."

Natasha nodded again in agreement and they started forward. Climbing up a section of caved in ceiling they looked around. 

"These people need an interior designer. Everything looks the same," Clint complained. 

"I think it's supposed to," Natasha said with a smile. "Looks better blown up."

Suddenly they heard voices and Nat whirled with her guns, Clint aiming an arrow. Pounding footsteps. Nat grinned. "SHIELD."

"Backup," Clint agreed in relief. 

"Maybe they know who fired the missiles," Nat suggested and she and Clint started walking towards the hallway.

Then they both heard a crackle from their ear pieces. _"Does anyone copy! Hello! Hello? Does anyone copy!"_

Nat put a hand to her ear, breathing a sigh of relief, "Peter, Peter! Is that you?" Clint motioned he was going ahead and Nat nodded, staying back where the signal was good.

_"Nat, Thank God," Peter gasped. "Rhodey and I are starting to get back up. Where are you?"_

"We're about to meet SHIELD backup. We'll see if they know who-"

_"NO! Nat, get out of there, now! It's SHIELD! SHIELD fired the missiles, get out of there Nat-"_

Nat looked up in horror, "CLINT!"

Clint turned around, shifting his position, just as the first SHIELD sniper took his stance at the top of the steps and fired. 

_BANG_

Nat pulled out her pistol and fired a second shot, hitting the man in the chest. He fell backward and Natasha sprinted forward as Clint's face contorted with pain. He spun from the force of the shot and buckled, collapsing onto his back.

"Clinton!" She dove to her knees, firing at the two men that rounded the corner. They both collapsed to the ground, one after the other and Nat put her gun aside, breathing hard.

"Bad guys," Clint hissed, writhing on the floor. "Not good guys." He looked down weakly, "Am I gonna die?"

"It's not bad, it's not bad, it just skimmed you, come on, we gotta get out of here-" she said, trying to make him sound okay. In actuality, the wound was bleeding profusely. It had skimmed him, right across the side, but it was deep. If he hadn't moved at her shout it would have been much worse. Natasha looped his arm over her shoulder, grabbed her gun and pulled him to his feet with difficulty. 

"Come on Clint," she said through gritted teeth as they hurried down the nearest blown up hallway to get out of sight. "Stay with me."

"HELLO! Everybody check in, now!" Tony hit the siding, bouncing off the wall due to his tracking being off. He cursed. "FRIDAY get it fixed!" he demanded urgently.

 _"Power is low boss,"_ she warned.

Tony cursed again, weaving through the wreckage. "Get another suit sent out. Check in! Does anyone copy? Does someone want to tell me what the heck just happened?"

Cap's voice came through the speaker just barely, _"I copy. Tony half the compound is down. That last hit destroyed the entire West wing."_

"Where are you Steve?" he asked worriedly. 

_"North- I see you. Your 2 o'clock."_

Tony dove, seeing Cap struggling to raise himself in the middle of an exploded hallway, his shield gleaming. He landed next to him, running over. "Steve!" Tony bent, clasping his friend's hand and helping him up. "That's my man. You good?"

"Yeah," Steve coughed, holding his side. "Where's everyone else?"

"I don't know. I don't know where anyone is. I don't know who fired those missiles-" Tony said, still scanning his surroundings in panic.

 _"SHIELD,"_ Nat spit.

"What?" Tony demanded, shaking his head in disbelief.

"How do you know?" Steve asked. 

_"Because they just shot Clint,"_ she said furiously. _"It's not bad but it's enough to slow us down. He'll be out of the fight for a little bit. We're headed toward you."_

 _"Jeez,"_ Sam cursed, _"Is anyone on our side? Bucky's with me. Clint, buddy you ok?"_

Clint coughed, _"Oh yeah, I'm gonna live forever."_

Tony laughed and he and Steve exchanged glances of relief.

 _"Just what we needed. Viz and I are scanning for any sign of movement. The third level was empty, we just did a sweep. And if you look at your heat scanners, it will show that there really was nothing there at all. We were played."_ That was Wanda.

"Has anyone seen Peter and Rhodes?" Tony said fiercely. 

Silence on coms. 

_"I was with him a second ago, but I can't get ahold of either of them at the moment. They seem to be disconnected,"_ Natasha said.

"I should have never left him," Tony hissed, fiercely running his hands in his hair, shaking his head violently. "We got separated and that's exactly what they wanted-"

Steve winced, "Tony, you can't assume that-"

"I'm not assuming anything Rodgers! A door went up, right between us. And two seconds later, the missiles hit. Don't tell me that's coincidence! They're going for the kid, Steve, they're going for Peter."

Cap put his hand on his shoulder, "Ok, ok, maybe they are. We'll figure this out. Tony, calm down-"

Tony spun and snarled, "We've got SHIELD agents trying to kill us, we've got HYDRA people still out here, and who knows if SHIELD let any of them escape since apparently they were never on our side. Where are the officers if they weren't on the third level? They probably never were. They probably snuck past us, right under our noses! And on top of that, Peter and Rhodes are missing, so _don't tell me_ to calm down Steve."

Peter and Rhodey were limping forward when suddenly the feeling came back. His hair stood up. His spine tingled. Peter stopped walking and Rhodey's head snapped over to him. "What's wrong?"

"Shhh," Peter said firmly, unhooking his arm from Rhodey's shoulder. He tested out his walking, webbing up his side a little bit more, able to take steps without wincing. Peter turned in a circle, looking around with narrowed eyes. The lights were still out but since the building was pretty much blasted to bits, sunlight made it possible for him to see, except for dark shadows. 

Peter heard nothing, meaning he heard everything. He heard the small whistle of wind. He heard the dust on the floor. He heard the pebbles that fell from the rubble, the groan of the rocks that were still shifting, the low rumble of the floor that hadn't stopped. He heard his own breathing and the whirs from Rhodey's suit. And he heard the pull of a trigger from a tranq gun. 

Peter flipped forward, grabbing the small dart out of midair and landing, ignoring the jarring pain in his side. He sprinted a few steps and fired a web before he yanked it as hard as he could, rolling and coming up on one knee. The man who had fired the tranq was pulled forward and slammed against a section of collapsed ceiling. His head made contact and he slumped unconscious. HYDRA.

Rhodey chuckled, "Woah- I didn't see that-"

Peter paled without even turning back around, "Rhodey, behind you!"

He spun just in time to see Rhodey fire, taking out 2 of the 3 guards that lunged for him. One got by and fired his gun right into the center of his arc reactor. It sparked and lit up and Rhodey snarled, smacking him aside but weaker, his movements sluggish. Rhodey fired again, his suit creaking. "What the-" Rhodey staggered. 

"It's a disabler!" Peter said, jumping forward and kicking one in the chest. "They made those in the HYDRA bases- advanced technology-" He punched another in the face and grabbed his gun, throwing into one man and sending him flying across the room. "Rhodey get yourself out of here, and then get out of the suit and run!" Peter ducked a shot and slid forward, webbing two men together. "In 30 seconds it will shut you down and you won't be able to get out. The weapon freezes all high energy currents! Rhodey, get out- find Tony, I'll hold them off."

Rhodey cursed and fired again, blasting men backward, some SHIELD, some HYDRA, "No way kid. I'm not leaving you."

"Rhodey don't be-" Peter spun and kicked off a man, flipping over another and slamming him into the ground. "...Stupid!"

"Peter, give it up. I'm not going anywhere," Rhodes snarled. 

"Your suit is gonna shut down!" Peter yelled angrily, avoiding multiple blasts, tossing the guns as far away as he could. 

"So be it," Rhodey said, firing over his shoulder. "We better take these guys out quickly then!"

"Get out of here! GO!" Peter yelled, slamming a man into the ground and webbing someone's gun, swinging it around to push people back before sending into the stomach of an unlucky man in the center. 

"Over my dead body kid," Rhodey said back, firing multiple shots. 

"Gosh darn it Rhodey!" Peter cursed, flipping over him to stop some of the men who looped around. He took out the first and twisted midair, landing on one knee with the man's head in the ground. Peter spun, seeing one agent got past him and was aiming his gun at Rhodey. He shot a web and threw him backward into a wall but not before he fired the second hit. 

Rhodey's suit froze from the electricity surge and it sank to his knees with a creak. He fell backward, facing Peter, unable to do anything as another man jumped in, taking advantage of Peter's shock. He swung his gun, hitting Rhodey straight against his helmet.

Peter screamed at the massive hit put on Rhodey's head. 

"No!" He webbed his back and slammed him into the ground, kicking him across the face. "Rhodes!"

Peter lunged to help him, his focus purely on Rhodey when he felt something sink into his neck. Peter faltered, cursing himself for not recognizing it. Peter's face fell and his knees buckled, pitching forward and hitting the ground. Another tranq sank into his side, then one more in his shoulder. 

"Karen! Karen, do you copy-"

Nothing.

Peter groaned, trying to army crawl towards Rhodey who was yelling for him in the suit. The 5 men left; they had killed or knocked out the rest, gathered around Peter. He curled his hands into fists on the ground and tried to get to his hands and knees only to be kicked down. 

"Don't touch him!" Rhodey yelled. "Let him go you sons of-"

The man fired at the suit, bullets bouncing off uselessly. 

"Stop-" Peter croaked, a boot hitting him in the jaw. Peter's head hit the ground and he spit out blood, his vision fading. 

One of the men knelt and grabbed Peter's shoulder, yanking him up, "Not so tough now, huh Parker?" Peter flinched at the use of his last name. No one called him that except Tony, and he didn't even think HYDRA knew it. 

Peter got a kick to his bad side and he cried out, twisting away. 

"LET HIM GO!" Rhodey yelled. The man nearest swung as hard as he could with his gun and that it was enough. Rhodey fell to the side in his disabled suit and Peter blinked harshly, trying to steady his breathing. 

"Rhodes-" he croaked as he was yanked up, his wrists twisted behind him. 

"We don't have time to deal with him. We need to get the kid downstairs," the man snarled.

Peter's vision was fading and his knees buckled. He looked up weakly, glaring at the man in front of him. The agent brought back the butt of his gun and slammed it against Peter's head. Pain exploded from the side of his head and his chin slumped to his chest before everything went black.

"Come on Pete," Tony whispered. "Where are you kiddo? Rhodes! Rhodey, come in man!"

Tony swerved around the remains of the buildings, scanning, looking, hoping. "FRIDAY, you can't even track the suit?"

 _"No, it appears to be disabled,"_ she relayed. 

"God, that's never good." Tony cursed before he dropped down into the next level, scanning again. His eye caught something and his heart dropped in his chest. Narrowing his eyes he started running, firing up his blasters and shooting forward. 

"RHODES!" he yelled, tapping into coms. "Patching coordinates in guys. Meet me here, I've got him."

_"Copy that. Give us a minute tops."_

Tony landed a few feet next to his friend and dove to his side, pushing him upright. He expected him to be unconcious but Rhodey was very much awake, yelling at Tony through the helmet.

"Tony! Tony, thank God- I can't move-" Rhodey groaned. 

"What the heck happened man?" Tony asked, looking him over. "FRIDAY connect. Get him out of there, now!" The War Machine suit peeled away and Rhodey gasped for breath, crumpling forward into Tony's arms. "Crap dude, hey, I gotcha, talk to me, what happened?"

"SHIELD man, SHIELD and HYDRA," Rhodey shook his head, pressing a hand against a gash on his temple and wincing. 

"Yeah, we know. The third level was a bust. They're hiding somewhere else," he said, helping Rhodey to his feet. He looked around. "Ok, now we just need to find Peter. You guys got seperated during the blast didn't you?"

Rhodey looked up at Tony, "He was with me."

"What?" Tony said, his helmet receding to his neck. "What do you mean he was with you?"

"When we got jumped," Rhodey stuttered. "He was with me Tony, I-"

"Where's the kid Rhodes?" Tony said calmly. "Where's my kid? Where's Peter?"

"I don't know," Rhodey said quietly.

"God," Tony gulped down a humorless laugh, turning around and shaking his head.

Rhodey stepped forward, "They shot some blast at me. Peter knew the gun, HYDRA tech, and it disabled my suit. He told me to leave but I stayed until the suit shut down-"

"Oh you're such a saint!" Tony spit, his heartbeat speeding up. 

"You asked what happened- I'm telling you- he got hit by some tranq, they hit me across the head. When I woke up he was gone," Rhodey said fiercely before he lowered his head. "I'm sorry Tony. We'll find him-"

"You're sorry," Tony repeated weakly. He got out of his suit and grabbed Rhodey's collar. "You're sorry."

"Hey!" Natasha stormed forward. Clint was slumped in Sam's grasp as the rest of the Avengers arrived, watching the scene unfold in front of them, realization kicking in that they were short one kid in a blue and red spider suit. 

Tony didn't let go of Rhodey, instead he shoved him backwards up against a wall. "I told you-" Tony trailed off, shaking his head. 

"Tony-" Nat said, walking forward, her hands out in an attempt to calm the situation down. "Where's Peter?" she said quietly. 

"Ask him," Tony snarled, shaking in anger, his gaze never leading Rhodey's. "I told you _don't let them get him_. I trusted you Rhodes!"

"What do you want from me Tony?" he yelled, shoving Tony off of him. "I did all I could-"

"Yeah well the truth is one of you is here and the other one isn't," Tony spit. Rhodey flinched but Tony wasn't done. He pointed fiercely, "They got who they wanted. The one who they tortured for nine years, who got out, only to now be shoved back in, isn't here Rhodes! He's with them now, God knows where. But you know who is here? The person who said they would keep him safe. You!" Tony yelled, lunging forward. 

"Tony that's enough," Nat said, grabbing his arm and pulling him off Rhodey who glared at him as she shuffled Tony backwards. Rhodey's expression would have broke his heart if he wasn't so angry at him. It was guilt, sadness, disbelief, anger, fear...

"Nat, get off me," Tony warned but Romanoff only tightened her grip. 

"Yelling isn't gonna help us find Peter, Tony, think of that. We gotta get to the kid as soon as we can," she hissed. He glared at her, but the expression of pure shock, horror, and fury wasn't meant for her but the man behind her. 

"Don't talk to me Rhodes," Tony demanded, twisting out of Romanoff's grasp. 

"Where could they have taken him?" Steve asked, hopping down to his side. 

"I- I- I don't know Rogers, I don't know. Is there- is there passageways we don't know about? Another level?" Tony spluttered. "God- I didn't want him coming, this is why I didn't want him to come- this is all my fault." Tony ran a hand through his hair.

"This is all my fault."

Peter groans, blinking and stirring on the ground. His throat is dry and his head is still throbbing with pain. He presses a hand against his temple and it comes away sticky with blood. He coughs and nearly screams in pain from the jarring shock to the wound in his side. 

Peter blinks again, wearily raising his head and looking around. It's a dark room, and he recognizes the layout. He's been here before. Well not...here....before, but still-

God, his head. Peter rubs his arm and groans. His vision is fuzzy and blurring, the floor spinning underneath him.

His arm is still sore. Tranqs. He remembers. Rhodey was hit across the head- Tony- where was Tony!

Peter scrambles to his knees and falls back against the wall, breathing hard, bringing his hands up to try and cover his head to stop the ringing in his ears. He gasps in pain, wheezing from the sting in his chest. 

"Easy Pete."

Peter snaps alert, hand clenched over his side and he looks around. It's dark. The only light is shining on a chair in the center of the room. He searches the corners, the shadows. Nothing.

"Who's there?" he demands. His head is pounding and Peter groans weakly. He knows that voice. He knows that voice. Why does he know that voice?

"The tranq will wear off in a bit."

Peter's breathing hard, looking around in fear. He shoves himself up against the wall. Peter raises an arm, his hand shaking. He can't breathe. There's a lump in his throat and a knot in his chest. He knows that voice.

"Show yourself you coward," Peter snarls. 

A laugh comes from the shadows and the voice echoes in the room. "Still the same. Sarcastic and witty. One of your best qualities Parker." There was a pause to let Peter be shocked at the use of 'Parker'. Then there was a laugh, "Yeah, I knew your last name."

Peter whips his head to the side, his eyes wide in fear.

He knew his last name, and he didn't tell him? Every day, every torture session, every time they talked-

Peter groaned, pressing himself against the wall. He was alone here. Sweat dripped down his forehead and Peter was trembling. His vision was swaying. He couldn't swallow properly.

"You gonna melt in the light or something?" Peter shouted angrily, his voice cracking as it broke. Peter gripped the ground to keep himself from tipping to the side, trying to control his rapid breathing. The room felt like it was closing in on him. There was a massive weight on his chest.

Fear paralyzed him. 

There was an audible sigh and Peter squinted at the far end of the room. Someone emerged from the corner and Peter's breath got caught in his chest. He shook his head. No.

No.

He died.

He died.

He can't be alive.

The person walks into the center of the light.

Tears come to Peter's eyes as he forces himself against the wall, shaking his head. His bangs stick to his forehead from sweat and blood and Peter's trembling still, gulping down sobs.

"No," he said quietly.

"I know. I look good right? You don't look too bad yourself."

Peter stares at him in fear, anger, disbelief. 

"Miles?" he whispers. 

Miles locks eyes with him, finally lifting his head. He smiles weakly, "Hey Pete."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so..........yeah. I hope you weren't expecting that  
> teeeheee hope you liked it! More to come! I needed some closure from Nat's death so that explained that. I have a whole list of things to do for the next couple chaters. Please stay healthy <3 <3 and stay tuned! New chapter out ASAP!!  
> I'd love to hear from you guys so pleaseee leave a comment and tell me what you think, or yell at me, either one or both, I'm cool with it :)  
> Next chapter we've got- well I really don't want to say anything so you know what? For the first time, I'm not giving any hints to next chapter. Muahaha see you soon :)  
> I love you all 3000 <3


	22. Blank Slate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo lovely readers! First off, thank you SO MUCH for all of your support. The hits, kudos, and comments have been absolutely unbelievable and I love every single one of you. So thank you so so so much for that- it's insane!!  
> The one good thing about no school is that I can crank out these chapters which is AWESOME! Hope yall are having a great day today, make sure you all stay healthy <3.  
> And man, have I got an intense chapter for ya. It's mostly Peter's POV in this one, hope you don't mind. I just rly wanted to dive in...and let me tell you...this was the hardest chapter for me to write, idk why, it just was. Also- let me just tell you- the archive was down for a little bit and i didn't know about it and when I say i freaked ohhhhh boi did i freak. But we good now and I had saved before hand (for once lol) so hurray!  
> ANYWAY, without further adieu...lets see what Miles has to say and get into this chapter

"Miles?" Peter said in disbelief. He couldn't take his eyes off his old friend...his living and breathing friend. A smile broke out on Miles' face but he couldn't return the gesture. He didn't want to believe it....because of what it entailed. 

"Yeah, I know," Miles grinned, spreading his arms and winking, "Not dead."

"How-" Peter shook his head, unable to form words. He was breathing hard and he suddenly set his jaw and clenched his teeth, speaking firmly as he started inching away along the wall. "I watched you die. You died in front of me." Peter's voice broke and his face screwed up into that of disbelief and sadness, "After you-"

"After I shot you," Miles finished sadly, nodding and scratching the back of his neck. "I am...sorry about that. It was just part of the deal, I had no choice-"

"Deal?" Peter demanded, moving away quicker, pain flaring in his side as his feet kicked against the ground. 

"Calm down Pete, I'll explain everything," Miles assured him, giving Peter a slight look of annoyance as he followed him slowly. 

"Don't- DON'T tell me to calm down!" Peter shouted, viciously pointing at his...his what? Best friend? Brother? Enemy? "And it's _Peter_ , to you," he spit angrily, continuing to inch backwards. 

"Alright, fair enough," Miles nodded, before he motioned to the chair that he had just passed. "Do you want to sit down? You look really uncomfortable down there. Here, let me-" he started forward, reaching for Peter's arm. 

Peter scrambled away, putting out his hand. "Get away from me. Don't!"

"Ok, Pete, jeez," Miles said, putting his hands up. "I'm not coming any closer."

"You shot me!" Peter yelled, reminding him. Tears welled in his eyes. "You shot me! And then- and then I watched you...die-"

Miles put up a finger, "You _thought_ you watched me die," he corrected him before he grinned. "I mean, come on. The whole 'escaping' thing? Surely you weren't dumb enough to think it was possible, or that we were even close? At 10 you were a genius bro."

"Don't call me that," Peter hissed. "You're not my brother. My brother died. On the steps. After he drove a knife into my back." 

Miles ignored him verbally, but he winced at Peter's last sentence, visibly hurt. "It was too easy. Getting the guns? Knocking out the guards? The security? Even with your powers, which you still hadn't mastered- but you seriously have now, kudos, by the way, love the costume-" he said with a whistle, admiring Peter's suit that still shone despite the dirt and dust. "You did notice it was all planned, right? We were meant to almost get out, it was all meant to happen. I mean I thought you would have picked up on that." Miles trailed off, recognizing the look on Peter's face that was utter disbelief. He raised an eyebrow and winced, "No? Oh."

"What did they do to you?" Peter said quietly, holding his side as he shoved himself back into a corner, dragging himself across the cold floor. 

"Do to me? Nothing. Well- everything," he said with a small laugh. "They saved me."

"Saved you- Miles, they took you from your family! They took me from my family! They tortured us, for a year straight, they tortured me for the next 8 after you died- or didn't die! I don't know anymore!" Peter yelled.

Miles made a face and sighed with a slight wince, "See, now you're yelling. Let's keep this civil, alright?" 

"Well excuse me!" Peter didn't lower his volume in the slightest. "You're not the one who just found out that your best friend is alive, after watching them get shot in the head, after they shot you in the side, and for what," Peter spluttered, "some sort of deal?"

"Pete, please just listen to me-" Miles pleaded. 

"I am listening, so you better tell me what the heck has been going on and I won't tell you again," Peter said threateningly before he spoke with venom, "it's _Peter_ you son of a-"

Miles lept forward with incredible speed and grabbing Peter's shoulder, hauling him up and slamming him against the wall he had been crawling backwards towards. Peter cried out in pain from his side and gripped Miles' arm that was clamped near his neck. 

The boy that Peter barely knew anymore was breathing hard, his eyes wide and crazed, like he was ready to kill him- not that he could. Peter could have easily taken him but something stopped him. Maybe it was the look in his eyes. So much anger, hate, fear, struggle...this was still the Miles he knew, the one who he had loved and protected like a brother.

"Miles-" Peter said slowly, on high alert. He spoke calmly, "You don't want to do this. Let me go."

Miles' hand tightened on his shoulder and Peter tensed. But then his old friend locked eyes with him and nodded, releasing Peter who shifted backward to lean on the wall, hand pressed to his side. Miles turned and ran his hands through his hair before he walked towards the center of the room. 

"They helped me fake my death, ok? To try and break you," Miles confessed. He faced him again and Peter was shocked to see tears in his eyes. Miles shook his head, his voice timid, "I wasn't strong like you Peter. I put on a good act, same as you did, but I just couldn't take it anymore. The stuff they did to us, every single day-" he trailed off. "Everyone has a breaking point. I guess I just found mine early."

Peter shivered, moving his head to try and stop the pain that flared up when Miles said that. It was different when Miles said it. He had been there. He had felt it- at least a fraction of what Peter had. He knew what it was like. He knew when the pain got too great you didn't feel it anymore. He knew what it was like to be relieved when you passed out. He knew what it was like to wake up in a dark room, unable to move. He knew what it was like to wish for a way out. And he had been given one.

Miles voice tore Peter apart and at that moment he couldn't look at him because he knew what expression he had on. He had worn it himself. Peter couldn't face him because it would remind him of the boy he once was: the scared kid who was forced to grow up way too early-

"Can you blame me Pete?" Miles half sobbed. Peter didn't correct him on his nickname that time. He _couldn't_ blame him. Miles continued with a small nod, wiping his eyes subtly and clearing his throat as both of the boys composed themselves. Miles shrugged weakly, trying to smile through the truth but he couldn't find that grin to hide the pain. "They offered me a way out, knowing you would never say yes. And I took it."

"What, did they tell you you could leave? Have a life?" Peter scoffed, shaking his head. His voice broke, "And you believed them?"

"They saved me Peter!" Miles whipped around and yelled. 

"Saved you!" Peter shouted back with a laugh deprived of humor. "Do you not remember the days when we couldn't move we were beaten so bad? When we couldn't talk because we had gotten punched in the mouth one too many times? When we could barely breathe because of the blood in our noses and mouths? We were _ten_! They didn't save us Miles, they ruined us! What did they do to you to twist your mind so badly-"

"They didn't twist my mind! They offered me a chance to leave, but I knew they would kill everyone I came in contact with, I knew that. I would be a danger if I stepped outside that base. So I was a hero. I saved people when I stayed."

"Miles, they were never going to let you leave. You have to see-" Peter tried.

Miles didn't listen, "And they gave me things, Peter, they gave me a life. They gave me a life I didn't think I would ever have after what I had done."

"What you had done," Peter echoed quietly in utter shock.

"And in turn I helped them," Miles said, speaking over Peter. "I voluntarily let them experiment on me. I _helped_ them, and they helped me. Peter," Miles smiled at him, his gaze and smile from a world Peter could never experience. Those emotions faded and Miles shook his head sadly, looking at Peter with the first spark of guilt he had seen.

"And every day I just wished I could have walked through the door and told you how good things were. Even after you thought I died, they couldn't break you. I wish I could have just gone in, talked like we used to, in the dark corners, avoiding the puddles on the cold floor, you remember that Pete? How we would tell each other it was going to be ok, and that we would see our families again," he laughed lightly, as if remembering a pleasant dream. 

"If I was given the chance, I would have told you once you accept it, once you finally see the big picture, it gets easier." He shook his head at Peter, shrugging with confusion, "But you didn't stop. You never gave in. And I just wished you would, each day, I wished that would be the moment, and it never was. And for the next six years-"

"You watched?" Peter whispered. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. It was so painful, yet he felt nothing. He was shallow inside, his lungs closing up, but in that moment he had forgotten how to breathe. Fury filled his chest and he stormed forward, forgetting about his wound, forgetting about everything. Tears built up in his eyes, "I was tortured for _six years_ Miles and you stood behind those one way _freaking_ mirrors, with Hersh, and _watched_?"

Peter slammed his hands hard into Miles' chest and he stumbled backward slightly. Miles stuttered, trying to recover himself, "Peter, you have to understand-"

"I don't have to understand anything! We were _brothers_ in there. And getting shot by you, watching you die, that was torture enough," Peter hissed. "But now knowing that you stood by, and let Hersh do whatever he wanted to me-" Anger boiled in his chest. "So when he was punching me to the point where I was spitting out blood- when he gave me the gun with the blank- when he held me underwater for longer than any human has ever been under- when he-"

"I couldn't Peter!" Miles yelled back, pushing Peter off him. "You hear me? I couldn't tell you! I wanted to, trust me!"

"Bull!" Peter screamed. "I was alone in there! I was taken, from my family, and I was alone. And then you came along, and we stuck together. You were like a brother to me Miles. Losing you was the worst thing that had happened to me while I was there. And after you shot me, I watched them put a bullet in your brain, in front of me and I didn't care what you had done. All I knew was that I was truly alone. Without you I had no one, I would spend nights curled up, wondering if it would end, wishing I had someone, anyone- but turns out I did- they were just too much of a wuss to stick through it so they got the fancy chair, _watching_ from the other side of the dang window as I screamed in pain, curled up in agony. _Watching_ as I took punch after punch after punch for the next six years- I HATE you!" 

"You can hate me," Miles said firmly, shaking from anger, or fear, or guilt- Peter didn't know. "You can hate me, that's fine. But don't hate HYDRA-"

"Don't hate HYDRA-" Peter repeated, "What is wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me," Miles snarled.

"You need help," Peter said sadly. He backed up and looked around the room, finding the door and limping towards it, slamming his fist against it so the metal dented. "What did you do to him? Answer me! What did you do you sons of-"

"They made me stronger!" Miles screamed. "Peter, you just need to listen to me!"

Peter turned to look over his shoulder and shook his head, "No, Miles- I don't know what they did to you and I'm sorry, I'll figure this out ok-"

_THWAP_

Peter instinctively ducked, gripping his side in pain from the harsh movement, before he looked up. A sticky web was attached to the door where his head had been. He looks at it in shock and his eyes widen before he slowly turns fully around, his fists clenched, his spider senses spiking. Miles' palm is out and he's breathing hard, his jelled hair slowly losing it's stiffness. 

"Miles, what did they do?" Peter asks softly. 

"You weren't the only one they tried the spider on," Miles said weakly. 

"They said I was," Peter said in disbelief, straightening. He thought he was the only one with his powers. This changed a lot. But somehow, his anger swallowed his disbelief and shock. He could worry about that later. He prepared a snarky comment and shot it with all the venom he could muster, which wasn't hard, because there had been a lot building up. "Oh, is that another thing they lied about?"

"They didn't-" Miles pursed his lips, plastering a smile back on his face like Peter was some four year old who couldn't understand that two plus two was freaking four. "You need to open your mind. HYDRA isn't bad-"

"Listen to yourself Miles!" Peter pleaded, "Listen to yourself."

"They wanted to make us stronger. Everything they did was to help us, to prepare us. We just needed to accept it. We were young, and naive, and stupid, we didn't understand," he reasoned with Peter. 

"Miles, I can't," Peter said, staying where he was, still trying to comprehend the fact that Miles had his powers.

Miles stepped forward, putting out his hand as if he wanted Peter to take it as some form of screwed up symbolism. "Everything we went through Peter, it had a purpose-"

"I can't believe that," Peter said quietly. 

"No- no- you're still-" Miles swore angrily, screaming and curling his hand into a fist, "just let it go! You're holding on Peter, you're not- just believe me, please!"

Peter continued to shake his head, "They took us from our families Miles. They tortured me, they tortured you. They made me...kill people. Innocent people, I still remember all of their names-" 

"It would have stopped after the first," Miles assured him. "It did for me."

"You killed someone," Peter confirmed firmly. "God...Miles..." He felt like was going to throw up from all the lies going through his head. 

"HYDRA never wanted any of this to happen. And now you have a second chance, Peter. You need to trust me. Clean slate. Just you and me, like it was. Just you and me. We can help change the world," Miles urged. 

"By killing innocent people," Peter finished. "Has HYDRA told you about their little plan? Weapons trade? Probably drugs while they're at it. Enhanced abilities for everyone? Is that how they're gonna save the world? What happens to the people who don't take to all of the tests and experiments? What happens to them?" Peter asks before he hisses, "We _saw_ what happened to them, we _heard_ what happened to them."

"Collateral," Miles said simply. 

"Have you slept in the past eight years?" Peter said in disgusted awe. 

"Don't give me that," Miles snapped. "Peter, please, for your and my sake, do what they say."

"Oh are you their diplomat? Is this what this is about?" Peter snickered. "What, you try and crack me and when you can't-"

"It can stop," Miles said firmly. "It can all stop. No more pain. I know what you went through. I went through it too. Six years was too much for a kid. One was too much for me, I know it was too much for you, even if you refused to show it. But we've grown up. Look at us! It doesn't have to happen again."

"You let it happen in the first place. You _watched_ it happen you sick and pathetic-" Peter hissed. "What went through your mind, huh? Did I mean nothing to you? Were you okay with watching me get tortured behind your safety glass? Did my screams ever keep you up at night Miles? Tell me."

"Don't- DON'T!" Miles yelled, putting up a hand, shoving his pointer finger towards Peter. "You were like a brother to me. You still are. But Peter, please, you're holding on. And for what?" he asked. "I was there when Hersh gave you the gun. You would have pulled the trigger. You didn't want it to be a blank. I know what it's like to want that option so bad, to take that over having to go to Cell 7 again-"

"Did you know it was a blank?" Peter demanded. 

Miles faltered, "What?"

"Did you know?" Peter asked again, gritting his teeth. "Did you know it was a blank?"

"Peter-" Miles said calmly. 

"Don't give me the crap Miles!" Peter shouted, screaming at him in fury, "Did you know it was a blank?"

Silence. 

Then Miles took a breath. "No."

Peter staggered backward and hit the wall. "You-"

Miles knew he messed up and his face contorted into one of pain. He stepped forward and spoke miserably, "Peter, I-"

"What if it wasn't? You were ready to watch me die! Don't expect me to listen to you, don't expect me to forgive HYDRA, and _don't you dare_ , expect me," Peter spit, "to forgive you."

Miles' gaze fell and he looked up at Peter in anger. All of the guilt was gone. All of the pity seemed like it was almost never there. In front of him was an easier version of Miles to face, because it confirmed Peter's hate for his old friend, and he was more than happy to play off of it. 

"Oh, did I piss you off? I'm sorry," Peter grinned, walking forward until he was in Miles face. "Go screw yourself."

"I fought for you," Miles said, looking down at his shoes, refusing to move or look up. "I asked for one chance to try and talk to you. You have no idea what you just did-"

"Oh boo hoo, you saint, you want me to get down and kiss your gosh dang feet that you can't seem to take your eyes off of- I don't need your sympathy Miles. And I didn't need that second chance. You should know better than anyone: I'd rather die before I do anything for HYDRA," Peter spit. 

"I know," Miles said firmly. "That's why I'm sorry."

"I said it once, and I'll say it again: screw you," Peter snarled, watching how Miles had been trembling, curling his fists, his fingers twitching. "Come on Miles, throw the punch-"

Miles' hand shot out to grab his throat and Peter ducked the sloppy lunge, grabbing twisting his arm away and planting a kick in his side. Miles groaned as he staggered and Peter backed up with a cocky grin on his face, "Oh, wow, that came out of nowhere. So what, I said no to their little plan and now they kill me? Or now you kill me?"

"Kill you?" Miles shook his head, straightening with a concealed wince. "No Pete. They won't kill you."

"Somehow that's not a relief," Peter said. Miles looped around to get to the door and rapped with his knuckles four times. A hit came back in response and Peter snickered as the door opened, "Aw, you got a secret knock." He sneered, "That's cute."

Miles slipped his hand through the opening and looked back at him. Peter didn't make a break for it. He knew it would get him nowhere. He also knew Tony was looking for him. The team was looking for him. Miles pulled it open and made locked furious gazes with Peter before he walked out. His cold stare broke and he tried a small smile, "It was good to see you Pete."

"Pleasure," Peter sneered. "And it's Peter."

Miles shut the door. 

"This entire time we've been following blueprints, right?" Tony asked. 

"Yeah," Nat nodded, Clint's arm around her shoulder. He could stand on his own now and he gripped his bow firmly.

"But they're the blueprints SHIELD wanted us to see," Tony confirmed. 

"So they're useless?" Wanda asked. 

"Yeah, but between my scanning and Vision's internal structure software, we can maybe reconfigure a new set of our own blueprints. We find out a place we missed. A secret door, I don't know," Tony spoke faster with worry. His mind was spinning. 

"Wanda, Sam and Vision, you guys need to make sure no one gets in or out of this building," Steve instructed. "SHIELD was supposed to have that job, but turns out they aren't doing it. You see anything that may seem like the kid could be in it, you let us know and track it. Anything else? Give it hell."

Wanda nodded, red magic swirling in her hands as she shot into the sky through the massive hole in the building. Sam's wings opened and he nodded, taking off after her. Vision hovered in air, "Tony, I've sent you the information on my central database."

Tony flicked through his display, "Got it. Link secure."

Vision nodded, "Good luck." Then he looked up and flew into the open air. 

"Ok so we've got this place surrounded for good this time. Do we have any idea where they could have taken Peter? There's no upper level or it would have gotten blown up. Maybe a passage in the walls? Or something leading to another base we don't know about?" he suggested. 

"Or a basement," Tony said, looking at the blue prints on his display. "The floor is a different kind of material. Air currents don't stop, and there are multiple weak spots outlining breaks in the floor. We've been standing atop something the whole time. The base is probably underneath. All this could just be for show."

"But SHIELD obviously didn't want us knowing that," Steve cursed. 

"And they would have known Peter would remember that level 3 was the protocol," Bucky added. 

"So the officers and directors could very well be down there as well. And Elliot Khol," Clint said firmly. "We still have a shot at this guys. We can still end this."

"Suit's ready," Nat announced. The War Machine suit's arc reactor flickered back up straightened, his eyes brightening. Rhodey stepped in, moving his arms and legs.

"Good to have you back man," Steve smirked.

Tony refused to look at him. Instead he turned to his friend, "Clint, you sure you're up for this?" 

"I'm not about to slow you guys down and I'm not about to stay behind. I'll be good. Besides, you need your Legolas," he grinned weakly, limping forward without Nat's help as she smirked. 

Tony nodded, "Alright. The first possible basement entrance is dead ahead. When we get down there, I- I'm going for Peter. I need you guys to draw their fire, destroy what you can, and knock out these psychos so they can be put on public trial for what they've done. Kill only when necessary. But I don't want the kid to be in there longer than he has to."

Steve nodded firmly, before he gripped his shield and jogged forward, "Let's go."

Tony caught Bucky's arm as they all started forward. "You know HYDRA better than any of us here. What are they doing to him?"

Bucky winced, "Tony I don't think you want to kn-"

"Well I do okay? Please, just tell me," he pleaded. 

"They have something planned Tony, I don't know what, but after going through all of this just to get to him, knowing what they know...it's something bad. They're gonna get to him, and they will hurt him, whether that's physically or psychologically, or both, they will hurt him like he's never been hurt before. He's pissed them off a lot. This has never happened to HYDRA before- no one has ever escaped, no one has ever beaten them. They won't take to that kindly. We need to get to him before... "

Tony took a deep breath, nodding, before he asked quietly, "Are they going to kill him?"

"I don't- Tony, I don't know," Bucky said firmly. 

Tony nodded, "Ok, but there's a chance."

Bucky's voice was quiet, "Tony if they don't kill him, that's almost worse." 

Tony's relief dissolved into dust.

Peter refused to sit in the chair. He sat with his back against the wall, facing the door. His side was healing, which was good. His mask wasn't fixed yet, and Karen had been offline for a while, so he was running on backup power, which should last him long enough for Tony to find him. He was pretty sure they hadn't left the base. The man who had knocked him out had said something about a basement, so maybe this was it. 

It was about 5 minutes of sitting in the dark when the door reopened and the lights came on. Peter would never admit it, but he was grateful. 

A man walked in with a clipboard who he didn't recognize. Peter grinned, stretching in his spot against the wall, "Love what you did with the place."

"You live up to your reputation," he smiles, motioning to the chair as if asking for permission. 

"You can take that. I'm good on the floor," Peter smirked before he cocked his head, "Have we met?" 

"Not officially, no," he said, crossing his legs and setting the clipboard in his lap. He undid a button on his suit jacket and rubbed his chin. "I believe you met my brother though. Charles? Oh- you must have called him Hersh."

"Oh being a psychopath must run in the family then. And his first name was Charles? I could have made so many jokes with that- I wish I had known. Lovely guy." Peter's smile fell and he sneered, "It was my pleasure to web him to a wall in a crumbling building. My condolences."

"We were not that close," the man chuckled. "Hersh made many mistakes. He deserved what happened to him."

"Woah," Peter raised an eyebrow. "Was not expecting that, but I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Except we're not," he said firmly. "Miles has told me you are not willing to cooperate."

"Oh, are you guys friends?" Peter asked. He already hated this. Hersh, as sick, strong, and messed up as he was, had a different method of torture. His was yelling and punching; physical pain was his best friend. He fueled Peter by getting pissed off at his sharp quips, and Peter could predict and brace for his next move. He could take the pain because that's all it was. His methods were not calculated.

This man's however, were. He had made sure Peter had seen Miles first, to give him that first shock. He would not be phased in the slightest by his sarcasm. He would be calm and collected, which entailed he had a massive dark side that Peter did not want to see. And even worse, not only did he know everything about him from HYDRA's database, but he knew everything Hersh had figured out, especially if they were brothers.

Peter refused to back down. He set his jaw and took a deep breath. Looking at the camera he had found once he had the chance to look around for blinking lights, he waved. "I bet Miles watching. He's good at that," Peter finished darkly before he snapped back to look at the man who was watching him with amusement. "You know, I don't know your name yet."

"Caine," he said simply. "I'm the director of this organization here. I admire your suit, where did you get it?"

"Justice," Peter slurred. "For the cheap price of 600 dollars. Any other questions?"

"Yes actually," the man said, unphased by Peter's sarcasm, like he had predicted. He looked up and stared at Peter with no emotion. "What were your parents names?"

There was a beat of silence before Peter swore angrily, "You sick son of a-"

Caine cut in helpfully, "I can tell you if you would like-"

"Richard and May Parker," Peter spit. 

"In your own words, can you describe what happened to them?" Caine asked calmly. 

"What is this, some messed up section on the SAT?" Peter spluttered.

Caine looked up after a brief pause and simply continued, "In 2005 they were brutally murdered while on a missio-"

Peter's face screwed up with pain and he shouted, "I know what happened to my own freaking parents!" 

"Good. So maybe next time you should answer the question when I ask it," Caine said without looking at him. "Let's talk about Tony Stark-"

Peter crossed his arms, twistedly relieved this was just a question and answer session. More time wasted stalling. He could deal with this crap. "Fine, let's."

Caine cocked his head and asked honestly, "Would you consider him to be a father figure in your life?"

"What kind of question is that-" Peter laughed. 

Caine set down his clipboard. "If I was to blow this entire compound right now would you feel any pain from loss?"

"Physically I wouldn't feel pain at all," Peter pointed out, scratching his chin. "Cause I would be dead too. My nerves would be fried in less then a second. And so would yours. Unless it was a slow and painful death like by fire- how big of a blast are we talking-"

"No, I mean just the upper levels, where the Avengers are currently scrambling around looking at you." He pulled out a small device that had a button on the top and leaned forward so Peter could see it.

Peter tensed, squirming where he was seated. He didn't know what that was, but he had learned from past experiences, small devices that people pull out of their pockets for leverage were never good. He couldn't read Caine from his expression; it was emotionless.

"C4 is positioned on all of the upper levels, equally distributed to cause the highest amount of destruction possible. If I push this button, it will be as if the entire building above us had never existed. Enough force to blow an additional half a mile radius. We would be fine though, but everything up there...not so lucky."

Peter crossed his arms. "My move? Cool, I'll call your bluff."

"So Tony Stark means nothing to you?" Caine clarified. 

"I never said that," he said, maybe too quickly. "I just said you didn't have a pair of balls to push the button-" Peter countered. 

Caine nodded, "So I'll ask my question again. Would you consider Tony Stark as a father figure-"

"Enough of your games," Peter snarled. 

"You're willing to risk his life?" Caine asked innocently. 

Peter scoffed, "I'm not risking his-"

"I heard you were smart. But turns out you're dumb enough to threaten me," Caine sighed. 

"I am smart- what you want to insult my intelligence now?" Peter demanded, growing tense. 

"I'm simply stating you are willing to let your friends and the closest thing you have to a father die, at your hand," he countered. 

"You're sick," Peter hissed. "Don't you dare-"

Caine watched him carefully. Then, before Peter could stop him, he sighed and he pressed the top button. 

"NO!"

Peter yelled in terror, scrambling his feet and holding out an arm to web his hand, but then he faltered. A pen tip came out of the bottom at the push of the button. Nothing happened above them. Peter was breathing hard, dizzy from how fast he jumped to his feet. Caine switched out pens and narrowed his eyes at Peter who was looking at him in shock. 

"Interesting," Caine noted. 

"You bast-" Peter swore, storming forward only for the door to burst open. Miles shot a web and Peter ducked, scrambling back and sidestepping to avoid the next two that attempted to restrain him. He grinned at his old friend, "Oh I get it. You're his attack dog."

"Miles, stand down," Caine said calmly. 

"Sit," Peter mocked, nodding as Miles backed off. "Stay," he smirked. Miles glared at him and Peter winked. 

"You don't need to lie to me Peter. In fact, you can't lie to me. I know all about you," he smiled. 

"Oh really?" Peter scoffed. "Enlighten me. What am I thinking right now?"

"You're glad that this is so far a simple questioning. You can handle that. And it gives you more time to stall until Stark and the rest of his costume wearing freaks can come and save you. You're slightly concerned because I don't act the same way as Hersh. I don't respond to your sarcasm. I am not the punch first, ask questions later type. I assure you Peter, your first impression is only what I want it to be. I _will_ hurt you," Caine promised. He chuckled, "You thought my brother could do a measure? It took him how long till he gave you that gun? I can do the same measure in the time we have, which is less than an hour, and this time, I won't give you the blank."

"Shut up," Peter said quietly, suddenly feeling very exposed. "That was a long time ago-"

"You feel vulnerable now, don't you?" Caine asked, Miles smiling behind him, crossing his arms. "Let me go on. You are still having nightmares from what happened to you. Panic attacks, anxiety, one of the worst forms of PTSD any human could have- but you're not human are you?"

"Last warning," Peter said weakly.

"Which brings me to my next point," Caine continued, leaning forward, his eyes gleaming. "Spiderman. What that means to you. You still feel like you deserved the past nine years. So many people have tried to convince you that it was us, that it was somehow our fault, but deep down you know the truth. You know we picked you for a reason, hurt you for a reason, ruined your life for a reason. Because you deserved it. You helped us for nine years, and you are disgusted with yourself over it. So Spiderman, that is your fresh start. Your new life. You want to save innocent people. Ever tell them that the person who just saved them had killed close to 10 people? Did you tell them you killed someone innocent even after you got out of the base?"

"How do you know that?" Peter whispered. 

"I didn't," Caine admitted. "You just told me. I figured you couldn't help yourself. You needed the feeling of watching someone's life fade from their eyes-"

"That wasn't what happened-" Peter shook his head.

"Maybe not in the end. But at first? I know you Peter. The pain you inflict feels normal and the pain you experience feels normal. You have multiple broken ribs, a concussion, a stab wound in your side and a dozen fractures, excluding the cuts and bruises and the effects of the tranquilizers we used. And yet you feel normal. Does that bother you? No. Because you know you are ruined. You know that you will never be normal because you've been torn apart and put back together so many times to count-"

"Shut up," Peter swore, his gaze flickering with anger. 

"Admit I know you," Caine said simply. 

Peter laughed. "No."

"Then let's talk about your father," Caine suggested. "You hate him for leaving you, but you refuse to admit any similarity, even if he was a man of honor, because you are too self loathing. You don't think you're a good person, you never will, because of your past. It eats at you every night. How many hours of sleep have you gotten in the past nine years? Three every night, I'm guessing? Five when you're lucky? None, usually. But back to your beloved father. After he died and after you escaped, your uncle, Benjamin Parker took up the roll. Did you two have some heart to hearts? I bet," he smiled. "Father number two. But you were so afraid of getting close to him, because you were afraid you would hurt him. Sure enough, you let him die. Shame," Caine shook his head. "With barely any time to get to know him."

Then he cocks his head at Peter, "And in the midst of all of that...there is Tony. Now he...he is interesting."

"Stop talking," Peter swore angrily. 

"Tony Stark. The one that's still alive- at least for the time being. The mentor that helped you escape your past and make a new life for yourself, believed in you when no one else did. You probably made the suit together, didn't you? Some bonding time in one of his fancy labs. As much as you can deny it Peter, I know you would do anything for him. He's the one weak spot somehow everyone knows about and you hate it. It scares you, doesn't it?" Caine smiles. "I could almost call him the father you never had."

"I said SHUT UP!" Peter yelled, lunging forward. Miles stepped in front and caught Peter's punch, throwing one of his own. Peter dodged and twisted Miles' arm in the crook of his elbow, straining against his grip. "You want to do this Miles?" he asked angrily, shaking with effort. "What, you think you're the better version of me? 2.0?"

"Don't make me fight you Peter," Miles begged and it had some sliver of sincerity. 

"Oh trust me buddy, I want a front row seat for that one," Peter hissed. "Watch you get your a-" 

"Enough," Caine stood and Peter struggled to surge forward with murder on his face but Miles was doing a rather good job of keeping their arms locked and Peter wanted to conserve his strength. 

"What do you want with me?" Peter snarled. 

"I want you to see what you've been missing," Caine said. 

"No offense man, but that sounds like a line from a crazy ex," Peter smirked. 

"If you don't join us," Caine said, walking to the door, "you will die."

Miles' grip loosened in shock and he looked over his shoulder, "Sir that wasn't what-"

"Oh shocker," Peter hissed. "He lied. Again. Miles, you catching the pattern here of do I need to spell it out for you?" he asked Miles who snarled and shoved him backwards. Peter stumbled a slight bit, surprised at Miles's strength. They stood a few feet of part, fuming, until Peter turned to look at Caine who was making his exit.

"Think on it Peter," Caine said firmly.

"What, twenty questions is over? I have a quarter, can I play again?" Peter shouted furiously.

Caine smiled, shaking his head before he opened the door and tisked, "Next time I won't be so lenient. I am impressed Parker. I see why you survived so long." 

"Screw you," Peter said firmly with a cold stare.

The man smirked slightly and then stepped out.

"Oh, that's not fair," Peter pointed. "He didn't need an adorable little knock code. Is that only for you?" His old friend glared at him, backed up and then left the room as well. Peter took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Karen?" he asked hopefully, a thin version of his mask made of nanoparticles coming up over his face. Words scrolled across the display screen.

**All A.I. systems permanently offline...**

**Tracking offline...**

**Scanning offline...**

**Communications offline...**

**Advanced weapons offline...**

**Currently running on backup power generator. Abilities limited.**

"Why?" Peter asked softly. 

**Unknown source jamming frequently.**

Peter cursed under his breath, shaking his head. 

**Overriding is not an option.**

"Of course it's not," Peter cursed, and the mask receded back into his suit. It was useless anyway. "That's just great." He slid down with his back against the wall and pressed his hands to his head that was aching. Then he snapped up, looking around. Something was wrong. Peter straightened and got to his feet, tense and alert. 

His ears strained to hear and Peter held his breath. Suddenly the small rectangular vents shuddered on the far side of the room and Peter stepped back. White gas spilled out slowly at first but then the vent plate shifted and it billowed out, clouding the side of the room in seconds. Peter narrowed his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. He cautiously walked over, but the minute it reached him he scrambled back, coughing. 

He looked up at the camera, "Cowards. Really?" He coughed again, backing against the wall as white smoke filled the room. "That's your play?"

His lungs burned and Peter felt lightheaded. He dropped to his knees, gasping, only inhaling more of the smoke and he fell to his hands and knees, fuming. He couldn't breathe. His head felt like it was exploding, as if he had been shot with ten tranquilizers at once. His eyesight was blurring, white spots crowding his vision. Peter's hand doubled and then tripled in front of him and he knit his brow, blinking hard and swaying, his balance off.

Peter wheezed, choking as he clawed at the ground, falling flat on his stomach and writhing on the cold floor. He coughed, his eyes burning from the gas and his hands unclenched. 

Peter's eyes rolled up into the back of his head, his vision tunneling as his head hit the ground. 

"Guys! We got one! Truck heading South! Vision, stay where you are," Sam instructed, honing in on the vehicle that just breached the ground, coming from some underground ramp. "Wanda, with me. Viz, keep a lookout."

 _"Copy,"_ Vision said back and Sam dove forward, firing at the speeding truck. His small drone, Redwing, shoots forward and slashes the two back tires. 

"I'm moving in the front, you go through the back," Wanda instructed.

"This is not the time for a joke, right?" he asks. 

"No," Wanda said firmly. She speeds past the truck, dropping in the center of the road and looking up, her eyes sparking red. With a snarl she digs her back foot into the gravel and thrusts out her hands. Red energy flies forward and encases the truck, sparks flying as she forces the spinning wheels to break. It halts less than a foot from her and she lets it drop, immediately twisting her palms. 

The front two doors and windshield are thrown off, the glass shattering as it hits the ground behind her. Wanda goes around to the right and slams the driver's head into the wheel, knocking him unconscious. She twirls her finger and the seat belt twists around the man trying to lunge out of the car. She slams him back against the seat and he lifts a gun weakly but he's tased in the back before she can knock him out. In surprise she watches him slump forward. Sam's drone is revealed behind him as the man falls. 

"Thanks for the assist Sam," she blows hair out of her face. 

"Don't thank me," Sam says back. 

"I am not thanking that thing," she says, running around to the back to help him. She puts up a wall of red as one of the men open fire and Sam rolls behind her gratefully. 

"Well they are stupid," Sam admits, the men still not stopping their fire even though they see the bullets disintegrating as they hit her force field. 

"Should I just wait?" Wanda asks, effortlessly stopping the bullets with one hand. 

"Elliot Khol. He's the one in the middle. Take out the guards," Sam says angrily, aiming his pistol. "I got him."

Wanda pulses and her energy flies forward, slamming into the four men shooting at them in the back of the truck. Sam lunges forward, elbowing Khol in the face before smacking his gun out of his hands. Sam grabs his collar and hauls him out of the truck, throwing him to the ground. 

Khol curls up, scrambling backward away from then. Wanda flicked her hand and he was forced into the ground by red cuffs that clamped down on his ankles. 

Sam walked over and straightened his wrist, taking aim at the man's chest, "You're gonna answer some questions."

"You'll have to kill me," Khol sneered. 

"That can be arranged," Wanda nodded, tightening the clasps around his ankles. 

The man yelped and cursed, sitting up and nearly smacking his head on Sam's gun. He paled. 

"We've been tracking you. You're actually what led us to the base," Sam said firmly. "We know about your deal with SHIELD, we know about the basement, and we know you have Peter. What are you planning on doing with the kid?"

"That's confidential," Elliot snarled. 

Sam hit the medals on his jacket with the tip of his gun. "Well lucky for us, you look pretty important Elliot."

"Tell us," Wanda hissed, squeezing her fist. "Are they gonna kill him?"

"Who knows? It's up to the kid," Elliot laughed maniacally. "If he doesn't cooperate, they won't have to. He'll do it himself."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Sam demanded.

Wanda looked at him nervously and flicked her hands forward. "We don't have time for this."

Red energy sank into the man's chest and Wanda knelt down, pushing her hand against Khol's head. His gaze glazed over and Wanda took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 

"Wanda, what are you doing?" Sam asked worriedly, tightening his grip on his gun in case Khol was faking, but it didn't seem like he was. It almost seemed like he was unconscious. 

"If he won't tell us voluntarily, I'm gonna make him tell me," she said softly, concentrating. 

Sam watched as Wanda's brow furrowed. He kept his gun trained on Elliot. His heart was pounding and he waited nervously. Suddenly Wanda made some sort of strangled yell and he snapped his gaze toward her in a panic. Wanda's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes shot open, scrambling back and grabbing her head in pain. 

Elliot opened his eyes, saw Wanda holding her temples and shaking and started laughing. 

"What did you do to her?" Sam demanded, pushing his gun under Khol's chin. 

"I didn't do anything," he laughed loudly, spitting, "She looked. She saw."

"You better start talking," Sam threatened, digging the muzzle harder under his chin.

"If you cut of one head, two more shall take it's place. If one plan fails, the other will succeed. You're biggest threat is what you don't know. We will always be one step ahead of you. Hail...HYDRA," Khol spit with a twisted smile on his face. 

"You sick son-" Sam pulled his gun back to hit him across the face when the man grinned widely, crunching down on something in his teeth, his eyes boring into Sam's.

"No-" Sam swore. Khol started shaking, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head, foaming at the mouth. Sam disgustedly let him drop and Elliot hit the ground dead. Cyanide.

Her turned to Wanda who had gotten to her feet with the help of the truck, still shaking, her eyes wide. Sam holstered his gun and went to help her straighten, "Wanda, Wanda, talk to me. What's wrong? What did you see?"

Wanda gasped, trembling in Sam's grip. "I- I saw what he's seen over the past thirty years- so much pain- so much fear and hate and- Peter. There was a video sent here, to this base, years ago, to someone named Caine. Khol works- worked with him. He's the director- when Peter was in the base- that man, Hersh, he was punching him and he wouldn't stop-there was so much blood-"

"Jeez," Sam cursed angrily, checking around to see if anyone was following him, his hand on Wanda's arm. 

"He gave him a gun. He just put it," Wanda sobbed, "in the center of the room. And Peter picked it up. He was gonna pull the trigger- but then he threw it and shattered the glass- I thought that meant he was just angry but- Sam..." her voice broke and she looked up with wide eyes, "it was because the gun had blanks. He was gonna do it Sam- he was gonna do it-" she said miserably. 

Sam shook his head, making firm eye contact with her as he held Wanda up, "That was a long time ago- he's ok now-"

"No," Wanda shook her head. "No, when Caine saw it he laughed. He said he could beat his brother's- he said 'record'-"

"That psychopath," Sam swore.

Wanda continued, stuttering, "...make Peter do it in an hour. I saw what they wanted with him. Peter's the only one who successfully merged with the spider bite- they haven't been able to replicate it, they've tried forced genetic enhancement on someone but it isn't working- it has consequences."

"Consequences, what kind of consequences?" Sam asked hurriedly. "Who did they try it on?"

"Constant brainwashing. This kid...Peter's age- I think his friend," she said quietly, squeezing her eyes shut, "Miles? Maybe? I don't- Peter thought he was dead...he has the same powers. He's stronger, faster, but it- it backfires. He constantly needs to be- they said reprogrammed? Put under again."

"Like Bucky," Sam nodded. "Brainwashing. That didn't work on Peter."

"Yea- yeah. Miles is supposed to try first, to talk to Peter, he probably already did. But if he fails, Caine's going to turn him, and the minute he does, Peter's gone. It's permanent. And they won't brainwash him, they don't do that here."

"What's worse than brainwashing?" Sam scoffed. "What, Germany does it differently?"

Wanda nodded and gasped out, "They'll try and erase his memory."

"Erase his-" Sam cursed, shaking his head and taking a deep breath, trying to think, "And what do you mean 'turn him', like into a HYDRA agent? Peter would never-" 

"They know he won't do it willingly," Wanda agrees, "Meaning they will do all of this, the- the torture and then the erasing- which they probably already have started. They just need to analyze his vitals when Peter is doing what they meant for him to do-"

"What do you mean Wanda?" Sam urged gently.

"T-the reason for the bite was so that he could become an assassin, right? He won't even know he's helping them. The red he sees, the HYDRA side of him that he buries, that Peter has tapped into before- when he's not himself- that's their goal. That's what they want. If they can get him to that point, they can break him. If they can replicate that, they can use those results and plug whatever vitals and sequencing they get- I don't remember Sam-"

"It's ok Wanda, just try," Sam spoke gently, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"They'll win. They're gonna use Peter to complete their genetic enhancement system-"

Wanda was stuttering, getting out as many thoughts as she could in a jumble and Sam's brain hurt trying to understand it all. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling. He tried to recap, "They're gonna use Peter to perfect their process? He's the test subject?"

"Yes-" Wanda grits his teeth.

"Erasing his memory would wipe out us, his family- Tony!" Sam exclaimed, running a hand over his head. "He wouldn't have anything holding him back. So they get the results they want and apply them, and then the spider bite will work with everyone they test it on, because they'll _make_ it work, using Peter?"

Wanda nodded sadly, tears filling her eyes. "That's- that's the gist. Ah- it hurts-"

Sam knelt as she sank to the ground and he rubbed her back, "Hey, you did great. You're ok." Then he shook his head, "Ok, well Peter has always been strong. He's beat brainwashing, he can beat a memory erase."

"Caine seems to think he can still get the results from Peter even without the memory- Khol was taken away for one part- he saw them talking- he may be wrong about something- something they didn't want him to know- I don't know how- I can't- Sam," she said firmly. "But once they get what they want, they won't need Peter anymore-"

"So what, if they piss Peter off enough after erasing his memory or not erasing it, and they do get the vitals, what then, they're just gonna kill him?" Sam demanded angrily, not at her, but at the people willing to do this to a teenager who has already been through hell.

Wanda nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek. "Or they'll train him again. I don't know Sam- it hurts-" Wanda buckled forward and she clutched her head, crying out. "It's spinning- I can't see-" 

"Hey, hey, hey stay with me-" Sam said, catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Those kids, those people-" she shook her head with scared eyes. "They were just like me. Manipulated. Tortured. Ruined. For what? And now Peter- we have to get to him in time Sam-"

Sam's expression broke and he looped Wanda's arm over his shoulder, "I gotcha. Hey easy, Wanda." He put a hand to his ear, "Viz, you hearing this?" Sam asked urgently.

_"I am, but the rest of the team isn't. They must have found the basement. I lost tracking less than a minute ago."_

"Leave it to HYDRA to think of everything," Sam cursed. "Well that's good and bad I guess. They're close."

"Viz," Wanda said quietly, pressing her hands against her head. 

_"Wanda,"_ he said gently. Sam always admired the bond between them, how they could have a conversation in just the exchange of their names. Vision's voice sobered and he spoke firmly, _"Sam, get her back safe."_

"Copy that," Sam replies, squeezing Wanda's shoulder. 

_"Wanda, hang on."_

"I've never done...that before- it was so much time-" Wanda winced, "my head feels like it's gonna explode-"

"Well you might have saved Peter's life. Just hang in there ok, I've got you," Sam said, holding her up and tapping into coms again before Wanda looked up.

"What about them?" Wanda murmurs, sluggishly pointing at the truck. She flinched and groans, clutching her temple. 

"Redwing will deal with them," Sam said, his drone whizzing off. "Viz? Keep trying to reach the team," he instructed nervously. "We've got to warn Tony."

"Memory."

Peter blinked, his senses spiraling back to him in one massive crash. His lungs burned with the first breath he took. His head was pounding, a faint, annoying ringing sounded in his ears. His muscles twitched as he lifted his head slightly. But Peter couldn't see. It was just a white light that made him close his eyes again with a small wince of pain. 

"Family."

He groaned, trying to move, before finding out he couldn't. His wrists and ankles had been locked down by clamps and Peter recognized the way they bit into his skin. He had worn them for years. Titanium. He couldn't get out, even if he wasn't in this current state. It all came back to him. Peter licked his lips. The vents. The smoke. 

"Friends."

Peter blinked again, trying to rid the white spots from his vision. His chest closed in on him and his heartbeat started to speed up. The voice echoed in his head and Peter squinted, clenching and unclenching his hands, trying to focus. 

"That's what keeps you grounded Peter. That's what's kept you alive all this time, hasn't it?" 

Peter gasped, widening his eyes and looking around. He jerked on the clasps, knowing they wouldn't move, but straining all the same. "You all are cowards you know that?"

"Is that so?" the man asked, and Peter knew who it was. Caine was pacing around him and Peter didn't even have to look to know there was a smirk on the man's face. 

"Knocked out twice? That's a high count for someone who says they're better than their brother. Hersh was a pathetic wuss but he never knocked me out," Peter said. That was a lie, but hopefully Caine didn't know that. He knew the man hated his brother. He could play off of that. 

Caine didn't have an answer for him. Instead he walked over to Peter's side and looked down at him. 

"Hey sunshine," Peter grinned. 

The fist came faster than he thought it would and Peter was surprised by the force. His head whipped to the side and Peter groaned, tasting blood. He coughed and smiled, licking a cut on his lip. "For an old guy, you punch pretty well."

The second punch was even harder and Peter's head hit the side of the seat hard, blinking with a small gasp, his jaw stinging. He shook his head to clear the dizziness and croaked, "Dang."

"You done?" Caine asked calmly. 

Peter slurred, "Oh buddy, you have no idea."

"I'm not one for small talk, like my brother was. So I'll just get right into it. I have less than 20 minutes left with you Peter," he said sadly. "And I plan to make good use of my time." Peter was gonna make a snarky comment but never got the chance. "I will break you Peter. That is my plan. My plans never fail," Caine said firmly, and this time he left a pause for Peter to cut in. 

"Let me let you in on a little secret," Peter hissed, leaning forward in the chair, his wrists and ankles pressing against the clasps. "I've been tortured by HYDRA for nine years. They killed my parents, took me from my family, turned my best friend into something he isn't. You all have beat me down as hard as you could. Yet I am the only person to have escaped. The only person who has _not_ been broken by your little mind washing games, or the pain, or anything and everything else that has been thrown at me. So you," Peter scoffed. "You're just another idiot in the long line I've had to deal with. What can you do to me Caine? Nothing."

Caine was smiling. Peter was breathing hard and he leaned back in his seat. Caine took a deep breath and sighed, "As much as I admire your confidence Mr. Parker, might I remind you that you had hope during that time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter snapped. 

"Hope is a very powerful thing. You knew your family was out there. You dreamed. You fantasized of a world where you got out of that base. Each day you lived was purely to spite my brother, to prove yourself. Well you've more than proved yourself. And now, you have even more hope. The Avengers. Tony Stark, in particular," he said. Three men came into the room wearing lab coats and Peter watched, his eyes trailing along the chair he was in, the machine next to him, the tools laid out that looked anything but friendly. 

"Hersh has tried this," Peter scoffed. He squirmed in the seat uncomfortably and called loudly, "Brainwashing doesn't work on me."

Caine sighed, setting down his clipboard, "Brainwashing is ineffective and temporary. But tell me Peter, what might it feel like to never even remember Tony existed?"

Peter froze. Every memory he ever had with Tony flashed in his head. His heart fell to his stomach. "You- you can't do that."

"Permanent memory loss? Yes. I can," Caine laughed. 

Peter jerked on the clasps, hissing, "You son of a-"

Caine crossed his arms, walking forward. "You were the only one to _effectively_ merge with the spider bite Peter, did you know that?"

"I'll kill you," Peter swore angrily, shoving his head against the back of the seat. 

"We tried it on Miles. It has some...side effects," Caine made a face, "We have to keep brainwashing him every couple of months. You are stronger Peter, much stronger. I wanted it to be you, but...well, life doesn't go your way all the time, now does it?"

"You did this to him- he didn't deserve any of this- you made him shoot me- you lied to him!" Peter yelled. 

Caine lunged forward and grabbed Peter by the chin. "I'm gonna need that anger later on Peter. Save it for me, please."

"I'm not giving you anything," Peter snarled, glaring definitely.

"We'll see." Caine's grip was bruising his skin it was so hard and he shook his head out of it. The man sighed, "To 'perfect' our process if you will, I need you need to tap into that 'red' that you hate so much. The feeling deep in your chest that you try so hard to cover up? I can see it in your eyes Pete."

"It's Peter," Peter snapped.

Caine smirked, ignoring him, "It's still there. It's always been there. And it's been growing. You are more powerful than you realize Peter, once you rip the yellow tape. Getting rid of excess memories just clears the...distractions. You were meant to be a killer."

"You're not the first person who's told me that," Peter said through gritted teeth. 

"True," Caine nodded. "But I'm the first person who will force you to go so deep into what you hate that you will never get out. You will drown in the red Peter, and just when you think you are coming back up I will be the one to hold your head down-"

"Shut up," Peter said furiously, staring straight ahead. 

"What will it feel like to never remember your aunt, May?" Caine asked innocently, enjoying Peter's reaction to his words. "Never remember losing your uncle, or all the times you had as long as you knew him, never knowing that you even had parents? To not remember your friends, or the Avengers?"

"Stop," Peter clenched his jaw firmly, digging his nails into his palms. Sweat beads and drips down his forehead. Peter can't take a simple breath without a sharp pang in his chest. He knew what Caine was going to say next.

"To never remember Tony?" Caine said slowly, watching Peter carefully. 

"That's enough," he demanded weakly. Peter's breath was shaky and he closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly shut. "So if this works, which it won't," he said, his voice quiet, but even he was unsure about that, "what, then you kill me?"

Caine rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 

"Oh, please, take your time," Peter sneered. "I have all day."

"I won't have to kill you Peter," Caine finally said, his eyes flicking up at Peter's snarky comment.

He knew what that meant. It made him angry. It scared him. He remembered how it felt when Hersh gave him the blank. How it felt when he was about to kill the robber. How it felt when he left Ben that night, the pressure in his chest rising like a tidal wave, ready to crash down and ruin him. How it felt when he tore the bathroom to shreds in the hospital. How it felt to kill those people in the base, eight of them, and then one more. How it felt to want to kill the unconcious agents in the hallway. How it felt whenever that feeling crept on him. He swore to never feel it again, yet he always did. It was apart of him. 

Caine sensed his discomfort. "And you will give me what I want, one way or another."

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" Peter said firmly, arching his back. "I'll be sure to tell you I told you so."

"Peter, you won't even remember this conversation," Caine patted his shoulder. 

"Don't touch me," Peter snarled. 

"I won't need to," Caine winked. 

Peter thrashed angrily, "You stay out of my head."

Caine cocked his head, "Oh, please, by all means, fight it. It makes it more fun for me. Watching as you forget every good memory you have ever had? You think you've felt pain? Watching that slip away Peter," he shook his head sadly, his voice genuine, "I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"Except me," Peter scoffed, trying to mask his fear. He strained against the clasps. 

"Except you," Caine nodded, turning around and walking to the door.

"You're a sadist," Peter yelled. "You're not even gonna stay? I guess Hersh _is_ better than you. At least he had a pair."

Caine stopped, and Peter dared to hope he could waste a little more time. But instead the man turned and spoke calmly, "I would think of Tony one last time Peter. You won't remember him in five minutes."

Tony fired, spinning and landing on one knee. He twisted and shot, firing a blast against Cap's shield. 

_"Just like the old days huh?"_ Cap groaned, ricocheting his shield off a wall. It slammed into an agents head and he flipped, grabbing it and spiraling, smacking someone into the ground. An arrow flew over his head, embedding itself in the chest of a man who had just raised his gun. 

_"Still got it,"_ Clint smirked. 

_"Thanks Clint,"_ Cap said breathlessly. 

_"I can't believe we've been on top of this the entire time,"_ Nat hissed, firing two shots. She tucked and rolled and tackled the man, elbowing the man across the face. Grabbing his gun she fired again.

 _"Rhodes, have you established contact?"_ Cap asked. 

_"Nothing Cap. They must have some sort of jammer. All external coms are cut off as long as we're in here."_

_"Like I said,"_ Bucky sighed, moving behind a wall as bullets peppered where he had just stood. He peeked out and shot once, _"HYDRA thinks of everything."_

Tony scoffed, "Great. And we're barely making a dent."

 _"Where are all these guys coming from?"_ Clint demanded, notching another arrow and letting it fly. It exploded on the far side of the hallway, blasting men into the walls. _"They're not multiplying, right?"_

 _"No, there's just a lot of them,"_ Bucky said angrily.

 _"Let's hope Sam, Wanda, and Viz have stopped anybody. I'm getting tired of HYDRA being ahead of us,"_ Cap said firmly. 

Tony backed up, firing a beam, finding himself side by side with Rhodey. He twisted and shot again, "I'm sure they're fine. They do their job," he snarled pointedly. 

Rhodey whirled, _"You have something to say Tony?"_

"Darn right I do. I have a lot of things to say to you Rhodes-" Tony snapped, turning around to face him. 

_"HEY!"_ Natasha yelled. _"Cool it, both of you. We have better things to worry about."_

Tony turned and fired a missle, exploding the far hallway. "I'm going. Think you can hold the fort?"

 _"We're the Avengers,"_ Clint chuckled. _"Maybe."_

 _"Go, we'll be fine,"_ Cap said firmly. 

Tony nodded and fired up his thrusters, blasting forward and knocking over three agents. He slammed through the door and fired again, lighting up the hallway with his beams. He swerved and dropped down the steps, kicking one of the man in the face.

Bullets bounced harmlessly off his back and Tony sighed, spinning and firing a missile. The man was blown into the wall and Tony walked calmly through the fire. He pulsed three times, knocking men into the walls before he shot down the hallway, exploding it behind him. 

"You still can't track the kid?" Tony demanded.

 _"No,"_ FRIDAY said sadly before she paused, " _But I'm getting a small heat scan. There's someone in 400 yards that doesn't appear to be an agent. Take the immediate left down this hallway."_

"Smart kid probably got himself out already," Tony said happily, shooting down the hallway. He cut the corner and landed on one knee, palm out. Nothing. Tony stood, scanning. "Light."

His palm flickered and the beam shone, lighting up the dark hallway. The walls were crumbling down. Tony peered, narrowing his eyes. 

_"Right in front of you. Two o'clock sir,"_ FRIDAY said nervously. 

Tony squinted, looking in the dark. "Kid?"

A boy carefully peeked out from behind the corner. It wasn't Peter. Tony's heart shattered at that. Deep down he knew it wasn't. He had wanted it to be. But it was someone who wore the same expression that the kid did when he first met him. Scared. Alone. Terrified. 

"FRIDAY, cover me," he instructed. Tony cautiously stepped out of the suit and walked forward, "Hey- easy, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"S-stay back!" he cried, scrambling away. 

"Hey, my name is Tony," he said gently, slowly walking forward, one step at a time.

"I know you," the boy said quietly. "Iron Man."

"Yes!" Tony nodded firmly. "Hey, I'm gonna get you out of here, ok?" The boy kept backing up and Tony quickly closed the distance, "Hey, hey, no, no- I'll help you. I'm getting you out of here. But I need your help ok? Maybe you can help me. Do you know a Peter? He's here, just like you are. Peter Parker."

The boy nodded, his voice cracking with emotion, "Yes."

"Yes!" Tony said excitedly. "Is he here? Is he here, do you know?"

"Yes, he's here. He's- he's my best friend," the boy whispered. He had stopped walking backward, still shaking. 

Tony recoiled in shock, "What?"

The boy's eyes filled with tears and he slowly got to his feet, staying by the wall. "They faked it all- they threatened me- they faked my death to- to break him. They've kept me here- it hasn't stopped- get me out of here- please-" he suddenly lunged forward and Tony was about to blast him out of reflex before the kid fell against his chest, wrapping his arms tight around him. Tony didn't know what to do.

"Get me out of here- I don't want to be here- it hurts- it hurts so much-" he sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. 

Tony hesitantly returned the hug, rubbing the kid's back, trying to calm the boy down. He racked his memory for the name. "Mike- Mason- Miles! Miles, right? That's your name?" What else did Peter tell him about this kid? Tony tried to think.

The boy looked up and nodded weakly, "Peter- they're gonna kill him, they're gonna kill him-"

Every thought he had at that moment died immediately. Tony pulled away and gripped the boy's shoulders, "Look at me. I will get you out of here, I promise, but I'm not leaving without my kid. Tell me where he is. Please. Miles, please. I can't leave without him."

"You'll get me out?" Miles repeated softly. 

"You'll never have to come back here," Tony insisted. "They can't hurt you anymore."

Miles pressed his lips together and he nodded weakly, "I- I think I know where he is."

Tony helped him to his feet, "Show me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated ending this chapter here...let me tell you, but it had to be done. I love you all <3 <3 and seriously again, thank you for all of your comments and support. I love hearing what you guys think! Yell at me in the comments, it's great XD  
> I hope you liked that chapter! I went overkill on some dialogue sorry, I couldn't help myself. idk I'm totally playing this off cool. I'm so stressed rn haha- I guess it means it's good when youre the writer and you stress urself over the endings haha  
> The reader in me is freaking out, hopefully just like you guys. The author side of me is thinking DUN DUN DUNNNNN muhahaha oh crap i gotta write more. This fic has been so much fun to write and i am rly rly hyped for the next chapter. It's not over yet.  
> Stay tuned for the next chapter and please stay healthy!!!!  
> I love you all 3000 :)


	23. It Was Always About You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers!!! Ikr back so soon haha that's the one benefit of not leaving my house :) so I get to write nonstop. FIRST I just want to say the response to the last couple chapters has been absolutely amazing!!!! I am floored by yall :) You guys are amazing and I rly appreciate every comment you leave they honestly make my day <3  
> As I was writing this chapter I was thinking holy crap this one better be just as good because ngl I think the last 2 chapters are my favs in this fic so far. So on the topic of this chapter....I thought I could give you guys a tiny break.....but like....I couldn't....and the next chapter I won't be able to either. So full on action for this chap and next.  
> So grab tissues and bandaids or whatever u need cuz....dang. Rough ride aha aha don't hate me. AND if you kill me i can't finish the fic! So like.... :) :) plz dont! Plz. I'm rly hyper rn and sleep deprived which is why these notes are seemingly written by a 5 year old.  
> I like this chapter a lot tho but I'm also rly rly hyped for next chapter as well. I'm getting ahead of myself. Anywayyyy I hope you all are doing well- quarintine sucks so please everyone stay healthy <3 I hope this makes ur day a little bit better and I hope the suspense doesn't kill you. I'm gonna go make some coffee haha

Peter strained in the cuffs; now he was starting to panic. This wasn't good. He couldn't do this. His breathing started to speed up. The men around him paid him no attention- he had given up trying to mockingly convince them they didn't need to do this. The only person who paid him all the attention was the person he wanted to shut up. Caine was talking over the loud speaker, which was mounted in the corner behind him, probably because Peter could have webbed it if it had been in front of him and sent it crashing to the floor. 

"This won't hurt Peter. It will all feel like a bad dream," he assured him. 

"Yeah, ok," Peter scoffed and shifted in his seat, snarling, "Go to hell."

A clamp was placed over his forehead, pressing his head into the seat further. "Is that really necessary?" Peter grit his teeth, his eyes swiping left and right in panic. "Thanks buddy, a little tight though, not that you care-" he called to the man who had restrained him even more.

The man walked over, his lips tight together, his nostrils flaring.

"Sorry?" Peter guessed with a smirk.

He pulled back his fist and Peter groaned, bracing for the hit as the he got punched across the face, his head held firm. Peter opened and closed his mouth, flexing it before he could manage a smile despite his stinging jaw. His retort was aimed to the coward behind the speaker, "You gonna tell your men to behave? Also why aren't you down here, watching the show?"

Caine was just about to answer before he caught himself and laughed, "Peter, when will you learn I am not my brother?"

"I've known you for ten minutes, so sorry if I'm a little slow," Peter grumbled. "I've figured out you're a sadistic maniac. So...point for me."

"I know you're trying to stall, which is smart considering the Avengers are in the building, but you also have to remember I am one step ahead of you. And as much as I would love to watch," Caine seemed genuine about that, "that's not part of the plan. I can't be down there when- look at that, you've almost got me spilling the beans."

"So close," Peter grinned mockingly. 

"In a bit, someone is going to come through that door," Caine said, ignoring his remarks. 

Peter moved his gaze as best he could to stare at the rusty door with the solid lock at the back of the room. He hated that door- it looked too familiar. Peter could see the differences to the ones back at the old base. He knew every inch of those rusty pieces of metal from hours of staring at them with nothing else better to do, his eyes strained with pain. You get a little board after month four. Try nine years.

Peter settled back down, wincing and adjusting his stance. The cold metal clasp on his head made him shiver and he arched his back, his spine tingling.

Caine continued, "They will release your cuffs. And then you will give me what I want."

"What, go dark side?" Peter sneered, jerking his hands against the cuffs. "Good luck with that," he snarled. 

"When are you going to accept that you can't get out of those? I don't want you getting hurt any more than you have to," Caine sighed in annoyance. 

"The good Samaritan finally decides to make an appearance!" Peter shouted with a chuckle. "We both know you don't give a crap about me Caine," Peter sighs uncomfortably, before he looks up and scoffs, "or maybe you do and you're saving me for the big event? Don't want to damage the prize, huh? Is that it?"

Caine laughs, "I regret insulting your intelligence."

"Oh that makes me feel so much better," Peter grumbles, continuing to yank on the cuffs. He refused to give this man any satisfaction-

"I wish we had more time together Pete. There are a lot of things I would like to say to you, but unfortunately I'm on a tight schedule," Caine sighed. 

Peter laughed dryly, squirming in the seat, "Yeah, well since your idea of talking isn't the...normal, _sane_ way, I think I'll pass, thanks. And what," he snorted, "You have places to be? Am I keeping you?"

"In a way, yes," Caine said matter-of-factly, "It will all make sense in a bit Peter. At first I didn't think it would work, to be perfectly honest, which is why I tried the pen...I'm quite sure it will now. People can be blind when it comes to saving the person they love."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked, this time out of curiosity. 

Caine chuckled and then said, "Two minutes. Like I suggested earlier, I would think of Tony, Pete, it will be your last time," Caine taunted. 

"Shut up," he seethed, yanking on the titanium cuffs that kept him in the chair. "And it's _Peter_. Last warning. I know you're deaf so I'll cut you some slack."

"Tell me, how did you both meet?" Caine asked. 

"Am I in freaking kindergarten? This isn't story time," Peter hissed, his heart pounding in his chest. Two minutes before he forgets everything that has kept him grounded? That keeps him as human as he can possibly be? Peter was ready to lose himself, he had always been ready for that...but to lose his family? To lose May?

To lose Tony? 

"Humor me," Caine urged, knowing full well that even if he didn't tell him, Peter would think about it. He was right.

Peter squeezed his eyes shut as the flashback hit him. 

_Iron Man put out his hands and Peter's eyes widened at the two blasters pointed at him, his gaze flicking back and forth in panic. He tensed, his hand starting to curl._

_It was Tony Stark who finally broke the silence, while staring at him with a look that spoke a million words, "Woah, woah, woah. It's ok."_

_Peter looked at him in confusion, refusing to back down even though their locked stares made him safer than he had felt in nine years. He refused to let that show, refused to let any emotion show. Then suddenly the suit opened and the man stepped out slowly. The Iron Man suit behind him powered off, the circle in the center going dark. His shirt was stained with dirt and ripped, bloody. He had been through a fight. His hands were up, and Peter knew he wasn't a threat. There was something different about him._

_"I'm not gonna hurt you," Tony promised, taking a step forward._

Peter stayed silent, fuming, his teeth grinding together as he twisted his wrists in the cuffs. Tears bit at his eyes but he wouldn't let them fall. Not yet. That meant he gave up. He wouldn't give up just yet. Not until the end. Not until he knew he wouldn't get out. 

"Fair enough. Any...special moments you want to share?" Caine asked. "Go through the whole highlight reel for me."

"I said shut up," Peter repeated, but his tone was weaker. He squeezed his eyes shut, hating himself for subconsciously playing along to his game. Caine just had to mention that and memories flashed through his head. He was winning and Peter had no way of stopping him.

He thought of May, how he would come home after school and she would be there, giving him a hug. How they had sat and looked at the photograph of his parents or talked about school. How her eyes had twinkled when she handed him his phone and nodded her head for him to go catch a taxi. 

He thought of Ben, their talks as Peter adjusted to a normal life, drinking apple juice and ordering pizza. Peter had gone back to his room and broke down, but was still strong enough to fake it for his uncle, for the only real family he had left. He thought of running out on him in fear of hurting someone else he loved, hearing the gunshot by the store and knowing what it meant. The doctor telling him they did all they could in the waiting room. Peter thought back to when he had hung his head, standing behind the glass, staring at the covered form of the man he had let die, or when he had stood in the rain at his funeral.

He thought about Ned and MJ, his two friends that had helped him and defended him. Building a death star with Ned, him finding out about Peter's powers and keeping him a secret, MJ not knowing, but still being friends with him even though he was just an awkward geek. 

He thought of Pepper, who had always been like a mom to him. The first day he met her they fired one of Tony's blasters in the lab. He thought of the Avengers, his family, who had supported him, encouraged him, saved him- from himself and from HYDRA. He thought back to the countless hours of football, arm wrestles, breakfasts, casual banter and board games, to fighting with them, risking his life with them. 

"Is your chest tight? Can't breathe very well? Your vision should be getting a little fuzzy. Funny thing is, we haven't done anything. It's all you Peter," Caine informed him.

Peter squirmed uncomfortably in the seat and croaked out, "Is there a note card? I need to leave some feedback. In the future, get a comfier chair."

Caine tisked, "Your sarcasm isn't as witty now. Why is that Peter? Are you scared?" 

"You tell me. I bet you've been taking notes in your handy dandy notebook," Peter said through gritted teeth. 

He had been through hell. HYDRA. Losing Ben. Nearly dying. But this...this scared him. Yes. For the first time in Peter's life, he was afraid. 

"You never cease to surprise me Peter," Caine laughed, his voice crackling through the speaker. It rang with feedback and Peter winced. 

"I'm glad," he spat wearily, trying to control his breathing. He twisted his wrists in the clasps that wouldn't budge, his gaze flicking around the room. 

"Do you want to know-"

"No," Peter cuts him off. He stares straight ahead. He's had enough of this. "When this is over," Peter said firmly, licking his lips. His voice is firm and promising. "I will kill you."

"Really?" Caine asked, but his usual bite in his tone was gone. 

Peter simply nodded. "Yes. I promise you that." 

"Sir? We're ready," one of the men said, standing at Peter's side. 

"Looks like my time's up Peter. I will see you in a bit. I did not want it to end this way," Caine said.

"Caine, you're gonna do me a favor. Tell Miles it wasn't his fault," Peter said quietly.

Caine mulled that over, "Interesting. _Very_ interesting." He paused and Peter could just about see the man smirk as he asked innocently, "Any last words to Tony?"

Peter bit his cheek at that, refusing to take the bait. In that moment, every memory with Tony he ever had- punching him, laughing with him, working with him, fighting with him, hugging him, trusting him- it all ran through Peter's brain in an instant. And then it stopped, peacefully, calmly, enough for Peter to take a deep breath and center himself, regaining his strength and composure for one last second.

He lifted his chin, answering Caine's question cockily, "He knows."

"Very well. I'll see you soon," Caine said. 

"Yeah, in hell," Peter grumbled. 

The fuzzy static sound ended.

Caine was gone. 

The man on his left grabbed the machine that Peter was sitting next to, pushing it towards his head. A small drill was on the side of it, Peter could see it out of the corner of his eye. It sped up until it's whir was a constant high pitched ringing. Peter's eyes widened and he struggled. He had no sarcastic quips left. He had no way out. 

Knowing that the one thing that kept him going...his family...knowing that was going to be stripped from him...

Peter had never felt like this before.

He had nothing. 

He didn't know what to think. 

"You ready?" the man on his left asked. 

No. 

_Tony rolled his eyes, "Sheesh. Now, you gonna go ballistic on me again or can I sit down?"_

_Peter crossed his arms, "Depends. You gonna have someone say they're gonna kill me?"_

_Tony made a face and sneered out, "No."_

_"Then I guess you're good to sit down," Peter said shortly._

_"Thank you your highness," Tony scoffed, sinking to the floor and giving him a huge fake smile with a twirl of his hand._

_"I hate you," Peter grumbled, sliding down to the floor as well, back against the wall, still tense._

_"Feeling's mutual."_

Peter felt a smile on his face, a small one, but it was still there. He looked straight up into the light that was hanging above him. His eyes stung and he sucked in a breath, a sob building in his throat. His forehead beaded with sweat. He was scared. He was in pain. His chest was tight. He was shaking, his hands barely able to clench. But he wouldn't beg, he wouldn't scream. Tony wouldn't. He wouldn't. For nine years he didn't, why start now?

_"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter straightened, shaking his hand._

_Tony nodded, clearing his throat with a smirk, "Yes, Mr. Parker, very well."_

"Go to hell," Peter responded to the man's question in a harsh whisper with as much venom as he could, curling his fists, breathing hard through his nose.

The man snorted as he grabbed Peter's chin and forced a rubber gag into his mouth. Peter choked, biting down hard after a short struggle. His hands curled into fists and he closed his eyes, a tear trickling down his cheek.

_Tony stepped forward and Peter took a small step back so he didn't hit him with his extravagant hand motions, not understanding why he was moving forward. Peter shook his head, frowning, before scratching his hair with the hand that tightly gripped his mask, still trying to figure it out. "It doesn't add up- the physics is all wrong about it."_

_Then Tony took another step closer and Peter's brow furrowed, raising an eyebrow. "What- what are you doing?"_

_Tony's hand reaches out and clasps his shoulder, pulling him forward. Peter hits his chest and feels arms wrap tightly around him. Peter stands there in shock for a second before he returns the hug, setting his chin down on Tony's shoulder._

Tony ran forward, blasting an agent into a wall. Miles was at his side, staying behind him to avoid any gunfire. The kid looked terrified but his jaw was set, his gaze determined. 

_"Tony! Any luck?"_ Cap yelled through coms, making Tony wince. 

"Sort of? I got a kid! Peter's friend, Miles. He knows where Peter is," Tony said, ducking behind a wall and firing back a shot ten times bigger. "Are you guys hanging in there?"

 _"You could say so,"_ Cap grumbled. 

"Which way?" Tony demands to Miles. 

"Uh- uh- left and down the hall-" Miles stuttered, keeping his head down. 

Tony spun and fired, blasting a light that fell on the approaching agents. "Stay behind me!" he said firmly. Tony turned the corner and took some bullets to the chest that bounced off harmlessly. He sighed, knocked the guy across the head, and then grabbed the gun, shoving it into Miles' chest. 

"You know how to shoot?" he asked firmly. 

Miles nodded dumbly, "Yeah- yeah I do-"

"Ok, shoot," Tony instructed, grabbing his arm and hauling him forward.

"Cap, when you can, get out, you hear me?" he said firmly. 

_"We're not leaving you trapped down there,"_ Nat snapped.

"They're gonna loop around and surround you. With Clint's leg- and Vision, Wanda and Sam not here-"

 _"You calling me old or something?"_ Clint yelled. 

"No-" Under other circumstances Tony would have smiled. "On another equally fun note, what's the deal with SHIELD? We thought there was a mole but was this everyone? Or just a few backstabbing sons o-"

 _"The entire board,"_ Bucky snarled.

Tony cursed, making a face, "I can't believe we didn't see this sooner."

 _"I've contacted Fury. He seems to be the only one who had no idea about any of this,"_ Rhodey said. Tony bit back venom for his friend, still pissed, but he took the appreciation to heart. 

"So do we get backup or would that blow the cover that we apparently have no idea SHIELD was in on this?" Tony said, changing the subject.

 _"No backup for us,"_ Clint whooped. 

"Outstanding," Tony scoffed. "I'm going radio silence. Get out of there if it gets too bad. Promise me Cap."

 _"You know we can't do that,"_ Cap responded almost too quickly.

 _"Go get our spider kid,"_ Nat demanded. 

"Yeah," Tony shut off coms and shot forward, slamming into someone rounding a corner. The agent somehow started to get up and Miles punched him in the face before driving his foot into his chest. The man hit the ground hard, knocked out cold. 

"Good punch kid," Tony marveled. It was a marvel the boy was even keeping up with his pace. 

"Thanks," Miles grinned, shooting at some men around the corner, clearing their path. Suddenly there was a massive blast behind them and Tony spun in front of Miles, shielding him from the debris and rubble that bounced forward. When it cleared, Tony turned to an empty hall, holding out his palm and scanning. 

_"Estimated twenty men rounding the corner,"_ FRIDAY reported nervously. The hallway was caving in, the floor shuddering. 

Miles shoved him forward, gripping the gun. "Go. Get Peter. I'll hold them off."

"You can't possibly-" Tony spluttered. He looked back and forth between the teen and the end of the hallway, footsteps pounding. They had seconds. 

"I know I can't," Miles said quietly. He shook his head with a small smile, "Tony, I've been screwed from the beginning. But Peter got out. He deserves a normal life- I can buy you some time-"

Tony raised his palm to fire at the approaching agents but Miles turned faster and pulled the trigger, bullets rapidly firing. As a result, the first two men that rounded the corner fell. 

"Go," Miles said breathlessly. "Save Peter. Tell him I'm sorry. Please."

Tony cursed, looking at the kid who let loose another spray of bullets. He started walking backward, not believing that he was leaving this teenager to die. 

"GO!" Miles shouted. 

Tony turned and blasted down the hallway. 

_"Left here!"_

He banked a hard corner and hit the ground running. Tony's heart was pounding and he turned to the first door, kicking it in. Nothing. He blasted open the second and got the same results. 

_"Heat signatures detected. Third room on right."_

"Thanks FRIDAY," Tony grunted as he fired up his thrusters. He skidded to a stop by the door and kicked it down, yelling, "PETER!"

So many things happened at once. Tony made eye contact with the kid who was locked in a chair.

"Pete," he said breathlessly, his kid's gaze snapping towards him. Peter's eyes were wide with equal amounts of relief and fear and the kid strained against his bonds, shouting what sounded like Tony's name in response, muffled due to a rubber gag in his mouth. 

Tony's eyes narrowed, anger heating up in his chest as he brought up his arm to fire. He took out the man who was holding Peter's chin with so much force it looked like it would bruise. His head hit the ground hard and he went limp. Tony spun with fury and fired at the other two individuals in lab coats, on either side of the chair. 

Peter was struggling and Tony surged forward, FRIDAY analyzing the machine next to him. That's when Tony saw the drill moving closer towards Peter's head, a loud high pitched whirr becoming audible over the roar in his ears. Peter was inching away from the tip as it got closer to his head, breathing hard through the gag and squeezing his eyes shut.

"No!" Tony roared. His arc reactor pulsed, sending a beam blasting forward, exploding the entire machine into bits, just before the drill reached Peter's temple. 

Peter visibly relaxed, his eyes flicking to the side in shock as the bits of the machine scattered around the room. His gaze found Tony and his head fell back against the seat, breathing hard. 

Tony's helmet receded to his neck as he ran to the kid's side, looking down at Peter in relief, "We are never splitting up again, you hear me?" he demanded. 

Peter let out a choked sound of agreement and nodded vigorously, as much as he could at least with the clasp around his head which Tony released first, tossing it aside in fury. Peter yanked the gag out of his mouth once Tony freed one of his wrists, gulping down a breath and coughing. 

"They were gonna make me forget you- they were gonna- erase my memory-" Peter spluttered in a torrent of words the minute the gag was out. "Tony they-"

Tony looked up in shock. Oh God...did HYDRA never cease to horrify him? Tony's thoughts were silenced when he saw a tear stain on the kid's cheek, Peter breathing hard, a look in his eyes he had never seen before. He realized what it was. It was fear. Fear of something other than himself. 

"They were gonna make me forget you," Peter said again, shaking his head. His voice was broken, "I didn't- I can't-"

Tony attempted to calm him with a broken heart, "Peter-"

"I couldn't- Tony I almost-" Peter practically yelled, his eyes still wide. Sweat dripped from the kid's bangs and he was trembling, confusion and shock in his gaze. 

"Hey, hey, HEY!" Tony steadied him, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder as the kid strained forward, gripping his arm. "Well it didn't work, ok? Pete, look at me. You know me, right? You know who I am?"

"Yea-" Peter gulped. "Yes. Yes." Each was more firmer than the next. Peter set his jaw and shivered, narrowing his eyes. 

Tony crouched to his eye level and nodded firmly, "You're safe, ok? I've got you," he promised, ruffling his hair, taking a deep breath. He clasped the back of Peter's neck and looked him dead in the eyes, nodding again.

Peter was breathing hard through his nose, slumping forward into Tony's chest, still gripping his arm. "Where's Rhodes-" he mumbled, "is he ok? They knocked him out-"

"He's fine," Tony spit angrily. 

"It wasn't his fault," Peter mumbled, recognizing Tony's anger with a slight wince. "Tony, it wasn't his fault- I told him to go. He stayed with me until his suit shut down, there was nothing he could have done. Please don't blame him-"

"Ok- ok- hey, Peter, _Peter_." Tony turned to look at the kid who had kept rambling in worry. He gave him a small smile and clutched the back of his head, "We will talk about that later. Now, did they hurt you? Are you hurt?" He looked him over and his gaze fell to Peter's side, "Holy crap- Pete-"

Peter shakes his head, "A few punches, nothing much. This was all from the explosions. I'll be fine, I swear. Barely stings anymore. Who fired the missiles?"

"SHIELD," Tony shook his head angrily, firing a blaster at the camera and speaker Peter nodded too in the corners of the room just for good measure before blasting one of the men who has started to get back up.

"How is he-" Peter marveled. 

"Don't know, don't care," Tony shrugged as the man hit the wall and slumped unconscious again. 

Peter shook his head and pressed a hand to his temple, "SHIELD though...they must be working with Caine."

"Caine?" Tony asked, moving to Peter's ankles that were clasped to the chair. The kid was squirming, kicking his legs and Tony put a hand on Peter's knee. He nodded with a small sigh as Tony began to slice through the clasp.

"He's the guy-" Peter said breathlessly. "Hersh's brother. We have to find him, he's still here, if we hurry. Get me out of here," Peter pleaded in a weak voice. It hurt Tony's heart, hearing him like that. A few punches might have been accurate, but this Caine guy did something to him. He was going to find out what and then Tony was gonna kill him for it. 

"I gotcha, just don't move too much," Tony said firmly, slicing through the left one after a second before moving to the right one. 

"How- how did you find me anyway?" Peter stuttered, running his free hand over his face, taking a deep breath. 

"Your friend," Tony grinned, slicing through that clasp as well. "Miles. He's alive Peter. He told me where to find you. He held the guards off while I-"

"What?" Peter's gaze went slack. 

Tony gave him a quick smile, glancing up, expecting to see a look of disbelief on Peter's face. Instead it was of horror.

Cap spun with his shield, knocking out a man on the other side of the room. He surged forward, sliding to avoid a swing and ran to retrieve it, punching someone across the face. An arrow hit a man to his left and he looked behind him, "Thanks Clint."

_"Yeah-"_

_"I've got five coming. Bucky, give me a hand?"_ Nat said hopefully. 

_"Kinda busy,"_ Bucky snarled. A man had grabbed his gun and Bucky wrestled him off of it, flipping him into the ceiling before kicking him forward, holding down the trigger of his gun as bullets sprayed everywhere. A shot bounced off of his metal arm, knocking him off balance and Bucky turned to press himself against the wall, gritting his teeth.

"Buck!" Cap yelled, surging forward but suddenly the ground was blown up next to him. Cap went flying, hitting the wall hard and slamming down on top of his shield with a cry of pain. He immediately brought the shield up, crouching as bullets peppered the metal. 

_"Rhodey, you got a clean shot?"_ Cap asked through gritted teeth, his feet sliding against the floor, sparks flying around him and spraying dirt everywhere.

 _"I'm coming Cap-"_ Rhodey relayed but then a cry of pain came through the coms from another team member. 

_"CLINT!"_ Nat yelled. Her pistols rang out. Cap shuffled to the wall, looking to see what happened. Bucky was pinned, using one of the men as a human shield, trying to get to his gun. Natasha was rushing toward Clint who was groaning on the ground, clutching his leg. Someone had climbed up to his perch. Clint was blocking the man's strikes with his bow, trying to get to his feet. 

Rhodey blasted forward to go get him when he was suddenly knocked down, bullets spraying him from all sides. 

Cap grit his teeth and ran forward, throwing his shield as hard as he could, knocking the first line of agents back. Then he had no choice but to dive behind a wall, his shield stuck in the rock a few feet away. Cap started for it but was forced back, covering his head as the wall was blown up with bullets. 

_"Someone get to Clinton-"_ Nat rasped, her gun knocked from her hand. Four people were on her and she had to resort to hand to hand combat. 

_"On your left,"_ someone said through comms. 

Steve dared a glimpse around the wall and stuck out his hand as his shield was launched forward. Sam swooped by, tossing Cap his shielf and firing at the line of agents who had been shooting at him. Cap tucked and rolled, jumping forward, slamming his shield into the back of the man who was shooting at Bucky. He kicked his gun forward and flipped, throwing his shield. It hit someone into a wall and Bucky rolled, bringing the gun up and firing. 

Cap clasped his hand and pulled him up to his feet with a grin. "Just like old times," Cap smiled. 

"Right behind you," Bucky nodded, lifting his gun. 

Wanda landed behind Clint, pulsing with red energy, stopping the man's foot from hitting Clint in the face. She blasted him off the rock and helped Clint to his feet before he pulled her forward and Wanda ducked. He swung his bow over her head, knocking out a man who had brought his gun forward. Wanda spun and flicked her finger as he was thrown to the ground. 

Vision grabbed the two men Nat was fighting, his mind stone glowing as he burnt through the other two. Nat flipped and kicked the one in the head and Vision let him drop before Nat picked up her gun and fired, the bullet passing through Vision and into the last agent. She blew hair out of her face and grinned. 

"I can't get over how cool it is," Nat shook her head.

"I can explain it for you some other time," Vision offered. 

"I'll take a rain check Viz," she grinned.

Cap threw his shield, knocking a light off, crushing two approaching agents and two arrows flew over his head, piercing the other men in the chest. Rhodey flew up and grabbed onto Clint's harness, swooping down and firing as Clint twisted and let an arrow fly, exploding the ground underneath some men. Rhodey set Clint down and fired, blowing some HYDRA agents forward. They stumbled and Wanda twirled her hand, red energy surging forward and crashing into the other men. Bucky fired over her shoulder, dropping them all as she held them in place. 

"Thanks for the assist," she nodded, her eyes gleaming red. 

"Anytime," Bucky spun and fired again.

Rhodey fired a beam off of Cap's shield, a ray of light slamming into the agents from down the hall. Sam swooped down and collapsed his wings, kicking a man into Vision and firing at the other one. Vision punched him across the face before he fired a blast from his stone to collapse the siding of the wall into the approaching men. 

When the dust settled, there was finally silence. Cap grinned and clapped Sam on the back, "About time you guys showed."

"Sorry, we got a little held up," Sam grinned. 

Nat reloaded her gun and joined the circle, "Did you find anybody?"

"Yeah, Ellite Khol," Wanda grumbled. Everyone's eyes widened. 

"Is he-" Rhodey hesitantly asked the question they were all wondering. 

"Dead," Sam confirmed. "Cyanide pill." Cap cursed. "We got the truck as it tried to escape. Wanda shut down all the exits. Vision was able to locate them. Everyone else is trapped in here with us. But there's not a lot of them. We did some serious damage."

"We don't leave here until every last one is either dead or going to jail, got it?" Cap said firmly. Everyone nodded. 

"Not to be a downer, but how are we supposed to arrest them if SHIELD isn't ready with the cuffs?" Nat asked. 

Vision nodded, "We also alerted Fury. Turns out there are some people left loyal to the real SHIELD."

"So backup!" Bucky said firmly. 

Sam nodded, "Backup. Where's Tony?"

"He went to go find the kid, we're going after him," Cap said, motioning to the hallway Tony had blasted down. "He found one of Peter's friends down here. Miles, I think he said?"

Wanda blanched, "What?"

Cap turned and raised an eyebrow, "What? Miles? Did I- say something?"

"We need to get to Tony, now," Sam said firmly. 

"Woah, woah, what's going on?" Clint demanded. "Is he bad or something? What damage could a sixteen year old do? He said he was Peter's friend."

"Yeah, well he was, but now he's lying," Sam said, shaking his head. "He's got Peter's powers. He's faster, stronger-"

"I thought Peter was the only one the bite worked with?" Nat cut in in shock. "Now you're telling me there's a double?"

Wanda nodded, "Peter's the only one the bite flawlessly synced with. Miles has to be brainwashed again and again- there are side effects. They're gonna use Peter to try and perfect the process of genetic enhancement. They gonna completely turn him HYDRA."

Nat shook her head, "Peter would never-"

"Because he's got May and us. And Tony, right?" Wanda said miserably. 

"Exactly," Nat said slowly, looking around at the team. 

"Why are you saying it like he won't have us? Am I missing something?" Clint demanded. 

"Oh God," Bucky said softly, his eyes locking with Wanda's. 

"I'm with Clint, what am I missing?" Cap demanded.

"It never worked, that's why they resorted to brain washing-" Bucky trailed off. 

"They're gonna erase his memory," Vision said quietly. "Of us, of everything. Without an anchor Peter won't be able to fight back. They'll get the results they wanted."

Cap pressed his hands to his temples, "Ok, ok, but Tony will get there in time. Heck he's probably already there-"

"Not if Miles is with him," Nat understood, cursing and shaking her head. "The kid's either leading him in the wrong direction or he's got something else planned. I don't like this at all."

"This was _all_ part of their plan," Wanda said with a wince. "We have to get to Tony. Can you get a coms link with him?"

"He went radio silent when he went deeper in," Clint said in a low voice. 

"And what about Peter, are they going to kill him?" Rhodey demanded furiously. 

Wanda looked up with tears in her eyes. Bucky stepped forward and locked eyes with her. She nodded and Bucky cursed. He spoke quietly, "We need to find Peter, now. Before it's too late."

"Ok, so that means finding Tony," Cap said, gripping his shield as he motioned to the hallway. "And that kid Miles."

"Peter what-" Tony asked, reaching for the last cuff but Peter grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at him. He spoke gently, "Kid- what's going on?"

"Miles? Did he hurt you? Did you kill him? Is he dead?" Peter shouted fiercely, his eyes flashing with anger. He gripped Tony's arm hard, almost denting the metal.

"Did he hurt me?" Tony repeated in confusion, spluttering, "What the heck are you talking about Pete-"

"Miles-" Peter seethed, shaking his head, his eyes wide and crazed. He yanked on the last clasp that was still attached, keeping his wrist bound. "No- get me out of here. Now Tony! Before-"

"It was all going so well! Why did you have to ask, Peter?" 

Tony spun in shock. Miles entered with a sigh, shaking his head, running his hand along the door frame before leaning against it, crossing his arms. Tony's jaw had dropped. Peter was yanking on the cuff but Tony was focused on Miles who had just walked in with a saunter he hadn't seen. The scared look in his eyes was gone, replaced by some conniving snarky glare through narrowed eyes.

"Miles?" Tony asked in a whisper. 

"Hey Tony," Miles grinned happily.

"You stay away from him," Peter seethed, yanking on the remaining cuff as hard as he could. But Miles wouldn't even look at him.

"Yeah, sorry, but this was all part of the plan. I was supposed to lead you to Peter, I was supposed to bravely sacrifice myself-" he twirled his hand and snorted, "Blah, blah, blah. You and Peter really are _so_ _gullible_. Like father like son I guess," he slurred with a sharp tone. Peter and Tony both winced and Miles noticed, his lips curling in delight.

"I mean, seriously though. Didn't you graduate from MIT? Tony Stark, billionaire, philanthropist, GENIUS-" his expression changed into what Tony must have seen. "You couldn't even figure out that I was playing you? Maybe you're not as smart as they say."

Miles voice cracked with emotion and Peter snarled. Miles smiled sadly, biting back a sob, "Tony, I've been screwed from the beginning. But- but Peter got out. He deserves a normal life- I can buy you some time- save Peter, tell him- tell him I'm sorry-" Miles cut off the monologue with a snort, laughing, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. 

Tony winced, looking visibly hurt, stepping back towards Peter who pushed himself up in the chair, instinctively moving closer to him, straining on the one cuff that held his wrist in place.

"You _almost_ remembered what happened with me and Peter, at least what he told you I'm assuming. The minute I said my name I could see it in your eyes. But right when you scratched that possibility that I wasn't who I said I was I sobbed that they were gonna _kill Peter_ and _OH GOD_! You're entire _world_ shut down!" Miles laughed. 

Tony tensed, sucking in a breath but stayed silent. It seemed he was at a lost for words. 

"I could have killed you right then and there," Miles snarled, before he snorted again, "I could have led you anywhere I wanted because you were so set on finding him. But," Miles put up his hands. "Now we have time to explain. So let me fill you in on a little history. Peter and I were practically brothers, best friends in that base. I was offered a way out, and I took it. Small thing was, I had to shoot Peter in the chest," Miles sighed, waving his hand.

Peter saw Tony flinch and his hand tightened on Peter's knee.

Miles was shaking his head and he finally made eye contact with him, a small smile of guilt appearing on his face, "He still hasn't forgiven me for that."

Then he snapped back to Tony and shrugged, "So I waited, for six years, and they never broke him. HYDRA kept me alive, they helped me, and they saved me."

"Kid you are the _definition_ of Stockholm syndrome, you do know that?" Tony said weakly. 

Miles shot him a look, his fake smile wavering. Then he shrugged, "It's sad that you don't see HYDRA for what it is."

"Oh you mean a terrorist organization who kidnaps kids from their families, tortures them, experiments on people, and wants to take over the world? Did I miss anything Peter?" Tony asks firmly. 

"Nope," Peter agrees dryly, not missing a beat.

Miles snickers, pointing at them, "You two...comedic duo."

"Thanks, we rehearse for hours," Tony sneers. "Back to your story though, please continue, I think we left off at the part where you were being brainwashed by the bad guys?"

Miles doesn't falter. "Six years later, I was transferred here because the other base was attacked. The Avengers came and blew everything to hell. Big, bad, costume wearing freaks stole my best friend, but Caine assured me that I would see him again. And I did. I was the first one that got to talk to him when he woke up and let me tell you Tony, the look on his face..." Miles snickered.

Tony started forward with murder on his face but Peter made a small sound of protest, shaking his head. 

Miles winked at Peter, "I tried to talk to him, but he just wouldn't listen to me. He's always been a close-minded kinda guy. Also Peter got a little bit salty too. I'm guessing he's not too keen on how his cool powers aren't just his anymore."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Tony asked firmly, finding his voice.

"Oh, yeah," Miles laughed and fired four webs before Peter even blinked. Even he jumped in shock and he hated that. He hated how his guard would forever be down when it was Miles. He was the first person Peter had trusted, the first person he allowed himself to open up to, to relax around, knowing he was a friend, not a foe. Losing that was like losing part of his moral compass, and Peter would never forgive himself or Miles for that.

And he would never forgive Miles for his well placed webs. Two hit Tony's feet, webbing him to the floor, one trapping his hand against the chair. The other attached itself Peter's wrist as he tried to shoot back. He fired one more against Peter's arm for good measure and Peter lunged against it, expecting it to snap but it didn't. It seemed to be just as strong as the cuff. 

Tony looked at the webs in shock, Peter struggling against the one that pinned his hand. It was much stronger than his, and that made him nervous. Peter's heartbeat sped up and he looked to his side. Tony put his palm up to fire and Miles effortlessly ducked the blast that hit the wall behind him, surging forward and punching Tony across the face before grabbing his arm that tried to fire again. 

"Ah, ah, ah," he chided, gripping the blaster with an insane amount of force. Tony winced, straining to break out of his grip.

"Miles I swear to God-" Peter cried, furiously yanking on the cuffs and webs. 

"Peter, don't worry, Tony's not my main concern, it's you. But I do have to take care of this one thing-" Miles said firmly. 

"Don't touch him," Peter swore through gritted teeth. 

Tony was twisting his wrist in Miles' grip, wincing as the boy's hand started denting his metal. Miles grinned and pressed harder, cracking the blaster effortlessly. Tony cried out in pain as it broke, sharp pieces of metal digging into his palm as the gauntlet shattered, denting and caving in on itself. 

"Miles, stop!" Peter yelled. 

Miles stepped back, letting Tony's arm drop, wiping his hands. "Easy Peter, he's fine."

Blood dripped from Tony's hand, pieces of the gauntlet littering the floor around him. Tony looked up in shock. Peter shoved his head back into the seat with anger and breathed hard through his nose, grinding his teeth. He locked gazes with his old friend, "I'm gonna kill you."

"You're gonna kill me Peter?" Miles asked with a humorous tone. He began to make his way around to the other side of the chair before Tony interjected.

"I gotta say kid... I feel bad for you," Tony snorted. Miles stopped and turned to look at him.

Peter knew exactly what he was doing and he hated it. He was keeping Miles' attention on him instead of letting it divert to Peter. Tony shrugged, "I mean, at least they tried, I'll give them that."

"What are you talking about?" Miles demanded.

"You," Tony laughed. "Peter was obviously the star pupil. You're like the one who always got one point lower. You could never reach that bar, could you?" Miles glared at him and Tony cocked his head.

"I mean, do you ever lay awake at night knowing that they tried again on you, failed, stuck you together as best they could and called it a day?" Tony asked with a smirk. 

Miles smiled calmly, "All the time. But that's besides the point. I'm apart of something bigger."

"Yeah well, it failed. My memory is just fine, thank you," Peter sneered. 

A small smile crept onto Miles' face, "God Pete, when will you learn? This was all meant to happen. I was supposed to lead him here. Without me he would have been going in the completely wrong direction. Tony was supposed to get here just in the nick of time to save you- Peter!" He shook his head with a small laugh, "It was never about erasing your memory. Remember with the pen? Just another misdirection. Now, we weren't sure it would work, but-"

Tony attempted to fire a blast from his other hand and Miles easily avoided it, webbing his palm into the chair and hitting Tony across the face with his elbow. "You done?"

"Oh buddy, you have no idea," Tony winced. 

"So what, it was for fun?" Peter demanded, grateful as Miles' gaze turned on him. His head was spinning. He was suddenly burning hot, his head aching, his vision blurring, but anger was keeping him sane.

"Yes and no," Miles laughed. "Caine's smart. He's always two steps ahead of you. Heck, he even _told you_ someone was going to come in and release your cuffs-"

"Yeah, and then he said I would go dark side," Peter sneered. "That hasn't happened. And it won't happen."

Miles sighed, "You are getting way ahead of yourself. No, it hasn't. Not yet at least. We need to take Tony out of the equation for that."

"Woah, woah," Tony put up a hand before he forgot his blaster was ruined. He curled his hand into a fist and asked, "Do I get a say in this?"

Miles pulled a syringe out of his back pocket and grinned, "No, not really."

"Miles, what are you doing-" Peter demanded, yanking on the cuffs. He recognized the needle. "No," he said quietly. "Miles, just knock him out or something-"

Miles flicked it and stepped forward with a small smile. Tony straightened, tensing, and when Miles got close enough, lashed out with his fist. Peter knew his old friend saw the punch coming. He could have ducked, but instead Miles let it hit him right across the face. He sighed, barely flinching, as Tony shook out his hand, "Did that feel good Tony? I figured I would let you get one hit in."

Tony gaped as Miles' hand shot forward and grabbed his wrist, forcing it down to his side. He moved the syringe to his head and Tony's helmet came over his face, blocking his path. Peter breathed a sigh of relief with a slight smirk. Miles sighed, "Really?"

"Sorry bud, but there's no way I'm letting that thing go into my neck," Tony laughed nervously.

Miles looked down, "Tony I don't want to hurt you, I really don't. But I will punch that helmet off your face if you make me."

"Bring it on Rocky," Tony snarled. 

Peter grit his teeth, straining against the web which was slowly breaking but Miles effortlessly shot another one to cover it without even looking and Peter was back to square one. He let out a strangled gasp, "Miles don't-" 

Miles smiled at him rather guiltily, "Peter, it's best if you don't look."

"I swear-" Peter seethed, his eyes flashing with anger. "Miles- I'll kill you if you touch him, I swear to God I'll kill you-"

"I'll take my chances," Miles winked before swinging his fist and punching Tony across the face. Tony's head whipped harshly to the side, and he let out an audible cry of pain through the helmet. Peter screamed through gritted teeth, squeezing his eyes shut as he shoved his head against the chair, twisting his wrist in the web. 

Miles sighed and punched again, a piece of the helmet snapping off. Tony groaned before he slurred, "You punch like a girl." He coughed and there was no doubt he spit up blood as he spluttered, "No, no- let me rephrase because Nat, Wanda, and Pepper could all sock you harder. You punch like a two year old boy who's having a temper tantrum because you took away his favorite toy-"

Another punch, this one cracking the helmet even more. On a normal day it would have taken more, but Tony had already been through a fight, and Miles was smart- hitting in the exact same spot each time.

"Final offer Tony," Miles sighed, smacking Tony's hand away that tried to grab his wrist. 

"Hit me baby...one more time," Tony laughed, but his chuckle was laced with pain. Miles slammed his fist into the helmet and it shattered, Tony falling to the side, only held up by his hand that was webbed to the table. Miles grabbed his chin and brought his head back and Peter nearly sobbed. 

Tony was gasping, his face covered in blood. Miles shook his head and turned Tony's chin to expose his neck. Tony fought him weakly, and Miles closed his eyes, tightening his grip and sighing in annoyance, "Tony, _Tony_ , come on. Work with me here-"

Peter cried out, straining forward. _What am I supposed to do?_

"Parker, you kick this brat's butt, you hear me kid?" Tony slurred, locking eyes with him. 

"I will, I will," Peter promised quickly. 

Miles held Tony's held still as he pricked his skin with the needle. Tony winced and Miles bit his lip, "These are what they use to sedate people in HYDRA bases. Peter and I have had our share. They're not the most comfortable things in the world, I have to say. They sting a little bit."

Tony choked on a scream and Peter watched helplessly, gulping down screams of protest because he knew they wouldn't do any good. He knew how much those hurt. They made your veins feel like fire and you couldn't even move to stop it.

"Now, usually that would knock you out, but we can't have that _just yet_ , so," Miles pulled something else out of his pocket. Peter had never seen it before, but it seemed like Tony had, and from his expression, he didn't like it. 

"Miles- Miles what is that?" Peter demanded. 

Tony's eyes widened and Miles grinned, "You'll remember this one Tony. You made it. If I'm not mistaken, you've had it used on you before. The government never approved it. There are so many applications for causing short- term paralysis."

Miles clicked it and Peter cried out in pain as a massive high pitched ringing hit his ears. He squirmed, shoving his shoulder up against his ear while gritting his teeth. His head was exploding and Peter opened his eyes wide, confused at how such a small device could hit that high of a frequency. Miles had screamed too, shaking his head to clear the ring before plastering the smile on his face again.

"Tony- Tony!" Peter strained, craning his neck, blinking away white dots that crowded his vision. His ears felt like they were bleeding. 

Tony glared at Miles, sucking in a breath, his eyes going wide with pain as his knees buckled. "There we go," Miles nodded, wiping his hands. Tony's head hit the metal as he collapsed backward and slumped against the chair, frozen.

"What did you do?" Peter seethed. 

Miles winced, clicking the device shut. "That's not fun for us either is it? I'm feeling a little groggy myself. You like it?" He showed Peter the device before motioning to Tony. "He actually made it a long, long time ago. It emits a particular frequency that causes some fun disruption in the brain making the person's muscles tense and lock up for a short period of time, stopping or slowing all drug effects as well."

He waved his hand in front of Tony's face and smirked, "Caine wanted him awake for this part. Tony can see and hear us, but he can't move. His veins will turn black in a couple seconds, but don't worry- that's normal. Hersh never used this on us though, I guess he liked when we squirmed. Psychopath."

Peter shot his gaze up from where it had been glued to Tony just in time to see Miles recognize what he had just said. The boy shook his head as he stood, as if he had been lost in a train of thought that wasn't his.

Confusion plastered all over his face he shook his head and grinned, clasping his hands. "Anyway, now that's taken care of, we can have a little talk. I'm gonna see how many hits it takes for you to break out of that cuff."

"Hit me all you want," Peter snarled. "I'll do ten times worse to you."

"Ohh, scary," Miles snorted. "And no, not you. To Tony. I know better than anyone that you can take the pain Peter. But can you watch him get hurt? Because of you?"

Peter paled and yanked on the cuff helplessly, "Miles wait- it's titanium- I can't- we never could get out-"

"Because we never tapped into our full potential," Miles winked. "You have the strength. You know you do."

Peter blanched. He knew what that meant. Sweat beaded on his forehead and Peter's voice broke, "Miles, no- don't-"

Miles looked at his watch, "Holy crap- look at the time! We gotta speed things up. To be perfectly honest with you, I really don't care about Tony, it's always been about you Pete. So here's what's gonna happen."

He walks over to his side of the chair and bends down, picking up one of the shards from the ground that looks pretty sharp. "You get out of that cuff, or a shove this right into that bright circle of his. It might not break on first try but man it’s gotta hurt. With my strength I’m sure I can do some damage. So how many stabs is it gonna take Pete?"

Peter's eyes widened at the sudden escalation of violence. "Miles what-"

"Sorry Peter, look I know you care about him and all," Miles shrugged, making his way back over to the other side of the chair. "But this is how it's gonna be. It will crack eventually. I’ll try and make it quick and painless-"

Peter thrashed, kicking his legs, denting the chair, "Miles, listen to me-"

"No- I am done listening," Miles seethed, grabbing Peter's shoulder. He loosened his grip and pleaded with him, "I have listened. I don't want to hurt Tony, I really don't. You know how you can stop this." Peter turned away but Miles yanked his chin back to face him. Peter was shaking with anger and he glared at his old friend who smiled, "You know what you have to do Pete."

"They'll win," Peter cried out, shaking his head as much as he could in Miles' grasp.

"Never mind if they win or not. This is Tony's life we're talking about- Peter!" he laughed in disbelief, "Are you willing to risk letting him die? Even if you don't do it now, you were bound to give in later, just with the extra cherry on top of Tony Stark being..." he made a face, "off the chess board."

"I can't," Peter hissed, yanking as hard as he could on the cuff. 

"You can. It's there. It never left Peter. It's deep down and right now it's crawling up because you know it's the right thing to do. Eyesight getting sharper? Vision turning a little red? That power in your veins Peter, it's not engineered like mine. It's there. It's in you because it worked with you, the bite _worked_ with you. No matter what you did, or what you do from here forward, you will end in the same spot. Making this decision."

"No," Peter groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. 

"Stop- STOP fighting it Peter!" Miles yelled. "Tony's about to die and you feel more strongly about your ego than you do about his life? Peter, you can't escape this. You can stall and push it away- it doesn't matter what you do! That feeling will always haunt you," Miles said before his voice softened, "but it doesn't have to. Not if you give in. You were made for this, from the minute you were born, everything that's happened, everything we've been through, it was all done for a purpose. To get you right here. Give in to that red Peter. Trust me."

"I don't- trust you-" Peter made out. 

Miles sighed angrily, his eyes flashing, "Then do it for Tony Peter, because I am losing patience. I don't want to kill him but I will!"

Peter yelled and ripped his arm free of the web, punching Miles across the face and kicking him in the chest. Miles hit the far wall with a groan, getting slowly to his feet as Peter slid off the chair, his one wrist still locked to it. He swayed, grabbing onto his cuffed arm for balance, his vision blurry. 

"Good start I guess," Miles decided. "There's the anger. Let it out Peter, come on."

"Shut up," Peter snarled, pressing a hand to his forehead. His eyesight turned red when he opened them again, staring at the floor. No. No. Block it out. His hands curled into fists. His breathing suddenly picked up. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't see. He couldn't even breathe right. 

"Show me your eyes Peter," Miles urged. 

"You stay away from him," Peter seethed as his old friend took a step closer to Tony. He couldn't help it. He looked up and glared at Miles who locked gazes with him. A smile broke out on Miles' face and he whooped. 

"There it is!" he yelled happily, grabbing the shard he had dropped. Peter's eyes were no doubt narrowed and downright terrifying, flashing with anger, with an almost red tint.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. Peter pushed his hands against his temple, gasping for breath, begging his lungs not to close. He blinked harshly, glaring at Miles. Don't do it Peter, he begged himself. Don't do it. 

He couldn't even feel the sting of his hands anymore. The clenched fist locked by a cuff, with blood streaming down his palm, it felt normal...

Tony was going to die. Four feet away from him. 

He couldn't break the cuff on with his own strength. He couldn't jump forward and let the shard sink into his own body, which he would gladly do; he didn't have enough leeway from the odd angle his hand was in. He couldn't tackle his enemy. He didn't trust himself with his webs because he knew Miles could dodge them and if he missed-

Any attempt he made would only stall. It was black and white. There was no grey area. No other way out. He only had one option.

Peter's gaze broke and he shook his head, muttering, "No- no-"

"What's it gonna be Parker?" Miles asked. 

Peter looked up at him miserably, shaking his head, hot and furious tears forming in his eyes. His vision was tinted red with every other blink. A warning...that he wouldn't heed. He knew what he had to do. 

Miles sighed, "Have it your way." 

Peter only had one option. Tears built up in his eyes.

Let the red seep in. 

Something clicked in Peter's head, the switch- the switch he never wanted to turn. But Peter didn't regret his decision. He knew he would have to flick it from the start. There was no other way. 

Miles plunged the shard forward.

Peter strained, his wrist bleeding from the bite of the metal. In a furious rage he snapped the cuff like it was made of paper, a newfound speed and strength kicking in. Peter lunged forward and his hand shot out across Tony's chest, catching Miles' wrist just before the tip sank into the center of Tony's arc reactor.

Miles and Peter were both breathing hard as they looked up at one another.

"Hey Pete," Miles greeted him. "Welcome back."

Peter's vision was dripping red and he snarled with the last voice crack he allowed himself to ever have. "I hate you." His hand lashed out and he grabbed Miles by the throat, forcing him to his feet, his gaze furious and dark. He didn't feel like himself and he didn't care. He made his choice. It was the right one, for the right reason. It wasn't about him. It had never been about him. He was expendable. He didn't matter. But to save someone else- that wasn't a question.

"Come on Pete," Miles said calmly, laughing as he gripped Peter's hand that was around his throat. "Hold to your promise. You gonna kill me?"

"Yes," he snarled, throwing Miles as hard as he could. Miles hit the wall, his back breaking it. It collapsed as he was thrown through it, tumbling into the dark hallway. He dissapeared from his sight and Peter started forward, his vision tunneling and focusing before he froze.

Tony was behind him.

Peter screamed at himself to turn around, but that voice had become so small he barely heard it anymore. 

"I'm sorry," he said simply over his shoulder before he sprinted forward, jumping through the hole in the wall. 

"Split up!" Cap said firmly with a nod, gripping his shield. "We'll cover more ground."

Rhodey nodded and blasted off down the hallway, his palm out with a light in the center. He swerved around the corner and hovered over the steps, dropping down to the bottom level. He walked forward, looking at the charred marks on the wall that must have come from Tony's beams. He quickly ran down the hallway, following the bodies of HYDRA agents that are sprawled along the ground. 

He turns the corner and goes down the hallway, hurrying forward. "Tracking?"

_"I can't get his signal."_

"Dangit. Come on Tony," Rhodey curses, leveling his arm as he creeps forward down the hall. He turns left and checks the first door on the left, kicking it down and aiming around the empty room. 

Then he hears a noise, a small one, coming from one of the doors farther down the hall on the right. Rhodey sucks in a breath, walking slowly. The door is already kicked in, flickering light streaming out of it. He spins in, leveling his blaster and then his eyes fall to his friend who is on the ground. 

"TONY!" Rhodes yells, dropping to his knees and grabbing Tony's shoulders. His face is covered with blood, his hand bleeding as well, dripping onto a small puddle on the floor. The gaunlet is shattered and so is his mask, pieces of it scattered along the tile. 

"Paralyzer-" Tony chokes out. "Three minutes left-didn't use- big-dose."

"The black veins-" Rhodey notices. "I've seen this before," he swears. 

"On me," Tony gulps. "Obadiah. Sonic-"

"Tazer," Rhodey spits, finishing his sentence. "Who did this?" he asks furiously.

"Kid," Tony croaks. 

"Peter?" Rhodey exclaims, and then he nods, "Oh, other kid. Miles. We tried to warn you."

"Consider-me...warned," Tony says sluggishly. "I can't move Rhodes-"

"I know buddy, I know. Just keep breathing. What the heck happened?" Rhodey demanded, "God- your face-"

"Thanks man," Tony slurs. "Long story. I need to go-"

Rhodey gives him a look, "Easy Tones. You're not going anywhere for a while." Then he moves his gaze to the chair and notices the webs and the broken cuffs. "So you found the kid in time? But it was a set up?"

Tony weakly nods as much as he can.

"Where's Peter now?" Rhodey asks nervously. 

"I don't know- I don't think," Tony takes a shallow breath. There are tears in his bloodshot red eyes, "he's Peter anymore-"

Rhodey's face falls before he shakes his head, "It's ok, we'll figure this out." 

"Rhodes-" Tony said, concentrating as he moved his hand to brush the metal arm of Rhodey's suit. He lay exhausted from the effort but he had gotten his friend's attention. Tony didn't say anything but he didn't need to.

Rhodey nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. "I know. But you're right. I should have protected him."

"Not- your fault-" Tony said firmly. 

Rhodey looked down and gave him a rough smile, "Yeah. You coming back to me?"

"Ish," Tony admits, able to move his legs now. "I gotta go find my kid-"

"Give me your arm," Rhodey instructs. Tony winces and weakly lifts it so Rhodey can swing it over his shoulder. "Your welcome sir limps-a-lot."

"I didn't know you watched FRIENDS," Tony groaned, staggering to his feet with Rhodey's help. 

"Neither did I," Rhodey snickers. 

"Shut up," Tony groans, holding his battered hand to his chest. "Go straight. That's where I last saw him."

"Tony, you're in no condition-" he points out weakly.

"Don't give me that Rhodey," Tony warns. "You don't know- what happened- this is my fault-"

"Ok, ok," Rhodes says, stumbling forward with Tony. He knew not to argue with him. 

"Thanks for coming man," Tony says breathlessly, his face screwed up in pain as he leaned on his friend. 

Rhodes gives him a small smile and grips his arm, "Always."

Peter stormed forward, punching Miles across the face. His friend fell, laughing as he scrambled back, blood making his teeth red. Miles flipped to his feet and shot a web at Peter who ducked, letting it pass over his shoulder. Peter surged forward and slammed his palm into Miles' nose, feeling it crunch and Miles growled, dropping to the ground and swiping Peter's feet out from under him. 

Peter landed hard on his back before he rolled to the side as Miles slammed his foot right where he was, cracking the concrete. 

"Never thought it would come to this, eh Pete?" Miles asked, flipping up to the ceiling as Peter made a swipe underneath him. He kicked Peter in the back and he fell forward, slamming into the ground before he webbed the wall and yanked himself forward, kicking off it and driving his heel into Miles' jaw. 

Peter caught his old friend's next punch in fury, "You betrayed me. Twice."

"Oh, don't tell me you're still pissed about that?" Miles grinned, locking Peter's wrist in between his elbow and forearm. 

Peter twisted Miles' wrist behind him, shoving him up against the wall. Miles grinned, struggling in the lock they had on one another, "Well it looks like we're at a stalemate."

"Yeah. Who's gonna break who's wrist first?" Peter snarled. 

Miles smirked, "I'm not even trying. You want me to try?"

Peter grit his teeth, pressing harder on Miles wrist, "Bring it on wannabe."

"Have it your way." Miles snapped his elbow up, catching Peter in the face before he kneed him in the gut, grabbing Peter by the waist and flipping him over his shoulder. Peter slammed into the wall and landed hard on his head. Miles kicked forward and Peter barely had time to move, getting the kick in his stomach instead of his neck. 

He rolled away, groaning, before lunging to the side to avoid Miles' webs. He caught the last one, yanking it forward. Miles stumbled and Peter lashed out with his heel but Miles caught it midair, flinging him aside. Peter hit the ground tumbling before he got to his feet, shooting a web at Miles foot and yanking. 

Miles flipped up as Peter pulled the web, looping it around his wrist and jerking it forward. Peter slid across the ground, catching Miles foot as it came plunging towards his face. He rolled over, but not fast enough, Miles planting a kick in his side that sent him flying, slamming into the wall before hitting the ground hard. 

Miles was on him in an instant, slamming his head into the wall and Peter groaned, struggling to see before Miles punched him hard across the face. Peter spit out blood, clawing for Miles' arm but suddenly there was a grip on his hair and Miles punched again, holding him up. 

Peter put his arms up to shield himself but Miles kicked him hard in the stomach. He doubled over with a cough of blood before he got an uppercut to the jaw. Peter's head snapped back, knocking against the wall before he slumped against it, breathing hard, coughing up blood. 

Miles was breathing hard and he collapsed onto one knee in front of Peter, "I didn't want it to be like this Pete. But it had to."

"Shut up," Peter slurred, blood pooling in his mouth. "I'm tired of your excuses." 

"It's not an excuse," Miles laughed, anger flashing in his eyes. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" Peter groaned, straining to prop himself up on his elbows. 

"It was all planned. It was always about you Peter. Always," Miles said sadly. "To get you to right here. Me leaving the base was because they knew the Avengers were coming? How do you think that was timed right, huh? You were supposed to break out, Tony was supposed to find you-"

"Just stop talking," Peter said sluggishly, falling back into the wall as he tried to get up, blood rushing to his head.

"They planted the trail back here, to Germany, leaving you enough time to get attached to your friends, to your family, to Tony," he spit. Miles put a hand on his own shaking knee and straightened himself with effort, staggering to stay standing before he winked.

"Ben though," he had the nerve to laugh. He smirked at Peter, "That just worked in our favor. I wish I could have met him Pete, he seemed like a nice guy."

"You'll die- for that-" Peter wheezed, gripping his side in pain.

"They knew you wouldn't be able to stay away once the Avengers caught on. We even got SHIELD in on it. Everyone here knew you were coming. This whole operation was staged just to get to you. Separate you, and bring you here, so that you could tap into that red you hate so much," Miles hissed. "Don't you understand? HYDRA _let you_ out Peter, to give you that life for just a couple months, to give you those memories-"

"And then what-" Peter seethed, "strip me from it to break me?"

Miles grinned, "In theory, yeah, but that doesn't matter. You should be grateful-"

"Listen to yourself," Peter gasped. "Grateful? You gotta see that's messed up Miles."

Miles' smile wavered, "I guess we just have different views."

"Yeah but this isn't an opinion. This is being a decent human being or not. You missed that check big time," Peter said, slowly pulling himself to his feet. 

"I don't want to hurt you Peter," Miles said, tensing as Peter walked forward. 

Peter snorted which turned into a coughing fit. He motioned to his face, "Oh so this was an accident?"

"When you disappointed them, they made me," Miles sneered. "Stronger. Faster. They engineered me. I am genetically flawless. You can't beat me, because you can't beat yourself."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Peter spit, curling his fists. "I'm pretty good."

Miles nodded, "Right you are Pete. But I'm better." His smile turned dark and he lunged forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy sooooooo I had to end it there. However: WE ARE NOT DONE! You thought this chapter was intense.... well....ha....i mean it was but next chapter wooooo :) :)  
> ANYWAY! Miles is a jerk...sorry about that- it was kinda funny reading all yalls comments who were like he better not screw us over and then I'd go back to writing how miles screwed everyone over XD BUT his character is not done yet!!! He’s one of my fav characters to write and hes still got a huge role to play next chapter- maybe you guys will like him more idkkkk. I have it all planned and I am very happy w it haha. Also you haven't seen the last of Caine either, he'll get his hands a bit dirty. Tell me what you thought and what you think is gonna happen! I love hearing from yall and I cannot thank you enough for ur support <3  
> Thank you so so much for reading, I seriously hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for next chapter it will be out ASAP!  
> I love you all 3000


	24. Short Straw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say, this chapter does get intense. I know a lot of people have been or are in some bad places, and I know life can absolutely suck sometimes, so for those of you who have been or are in that situation just know you are strong enough to overcome whatever is thrown at you. It will get better. This story for me is all about perseverance and how you should always keep fighting so keep on keeping on guys, especially during this rough time that we are all going through rn. You all are amazing and you guys mean the world to me <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovely readers welcome back to another segment of me ripping your heart out! Jk- well not really. Mostly Peter's POV so you can imagine how that goes. First off pleaseeee stay healthy, I hope you are all doing well and not getting too bored. I know i am with no school for the rest of the year ugh- yes I am one of those nerds who likes school. Maybe thats why I love Peter so much ahah. But hopefully this story helps you get through the days! I love you all so much, thank you for all your support- the comments and kudos have been absolutely amazing and I really really appreciate it you guys are the best <3  
> Getting into this chapter: it's probably the most violent and the most intense, but it ties mostly all the lose ends. I really hope you like it, I spent a lot of time on it, so sorry that it got delayed a slight bit. I was gonna post earlier today but I wanted to make sure it was rly good because this one...dang...it hits hard I wont lie to you. So this is a late release because I stayed up to finalize everything and stick in as much as I could. Thank you once again for sticking with me through my crazy writing and this fantastic journey.  
> So I really hope you like it and please don't kill me. I'm serious, please don't. <3 <3  
> ALSO HOLY CRAP WE REACHED 200K WORDS WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK?!?!?!?! Thank you all seriously holy crap XD  
> Enjoy :)

Cap ran forward, meeting up with the Avengers who had circled back, finding nothing. 

"Where's Rhodes?" Cap demanded. 

_"Sorry I'm late, I brought a friend,"_ Rhodey said through coms. Natahsa's eyes widened as her gaze fell on something over Cap's shoulder. 

"Tony!" She exclaimed. 

"Don't worry," Tony said angrily, Rhodey helping him stagger in with an arm around his shoulder. "It's worse than it looks."

"That's not comforting," Cap said, striding forward and putting a hand on Tony's back, offering him some more support. Tony waved him off, shooting him a grateful look. He knew the look in his eyes. 

Tony gave him a weak smile, clasping his hand before he struggled to stand on his own, the effects of the device wearing off. It made his spine tingle, and he hated that old feeling. "Miles," Tony said weakly. "I'm gonna kill that kid-"

"We know," Wanda said quietly. "Elliot Khol is dead. But I saw everything, I knew what was going to happen. It was trap, we just couldn't get here in time to warn you."

"Where's the kid?" Sam asked hurriedly. "His memory-"

"It was a set up. That was never the plan. The plan was to get me and Peter alone," Tony said weakly. "To use me to get to Peter. And it worked."

"That's what Khol didn't know," Wanda said weakly. "That's what Caine kept from him."

"What do you mean it worked?" Bucky asked loudly and everyone looked at Tony.

Tony's voice was quiet, "He ripped through titanium cuffs. He threw Miles through the wall, saved my life. He didn't even turn around. He just said he was sorry and then he left and I couldn't move-"

"What?" Clint exclaimed. Natasha cursed. 

"Oh God," Bucky whispered. "He's not...Peter anymore, is he?"

"I- I don't know," Tony said weakly, trying to hold back a panic attack that was creeping on him like a tidal wave. Finding Peter was the only thing that kept him focused. "I- don't know, but we need to find him. Now."

"There's a lab, Vision found it while we were looking for you. The guards haven't left and there are security cameras still up and running in there. We can ask them."

"Ask," Clint scoffed. "I may just unload a couple arrows for the heck of it, these guys are psychopaths!"

"Shouldn't we just go looking?" Sam asked. 

"If we don't know where we're looking we're only hurting Peter," Natasha said firmly. 

Tony nodded. Cap brushed his arm, "You didn't happen to see where he went, did you?"

Tony shook his head, "They could be anywhere. I had an old device of mine used on me, let's just say it was not fun."

"Ok, so lab," Clint said firmly. 

"Lab," Rhodey agreed. 

Just as they approached, Rhodey stuck by Tony who was storming forward. With adrenaline and anger, Tony was refueled, with more energy and determination than he had seen his entire time knowing him. 

"Tony, we shouldn't burst in there, let's think about this first-" Rhodey hissed. 

"I thought about it," Tony snarled, blasting the door open. 

Cap flipped in and swung his shield. Wanda stepped in next, trapping the four men that were at the panels. Natasha fired four times over her shoulder. Rhodey blasted the secuirty camera in the corner and Tony fired up his boosters, slamming a man into the wall. 

"Cameras are either dead or broken. The working ones don't show Peter," Natasha said, her and Clint scanning all the servers. 

"Where is he?" Tony yelled. The man was stuttering and Tony wouldn't have it. He grabbed the man's collar with his actual hand, now that his gauntlet was broken and he shot a blast that singed the man's leg. Tony yelled again, "Tell me where he is or I swear to God-"

"Tony," Cap said quietly trying to put a hand on his arm. 

"Not now Rogers," Tony hissed, firing a blast just to the left of the man's chest. "Yeah, that was close, wasn't it?"

"Tony maybe he doesn't know," Wanda suggested. 

Tony's gaze was dark and he shook his head in fury, his gaze set. "I don't have time for this. Where are they?"

The man screamed out something and FRIDAY translated. _"Left wing near 240?"_

"There's a channel leading to some source downstairs, near that location," Vision said. "I have the half mile radius point but the connection won't let me get any closer."

"Send it to me," Tony said firmly. It popped up on his display and he scanned it, letting the man drop. "We're going. Teams of two. Let's go." He fired behind him, decking the man with a blast to his chest.

They had knocked down so many walls, taken so many hits, and the violence had only escalated. After dropping down a flight of stairs, turning corners, and slamming each other through countless walls, they had finally ended up in a massive room on some end of the base. Peter didn't know where he was and he didn't care. His heart was pounding and his adrenaline was pumping, his vision red, his hits meant to cause pain.

Miles surged forward and Peter blocked his strike, stumbling backward. Miles shot a web and it hit him in the shoulder. Peter wrapped his hand around it, bracing, but Miles had already yanked it forward and drove his knee into Peter's chest. Peter fell, ripping the web off and wheezing as he backed up.

He put out his hand and touched his fingers to his palm, muttering, "Tazer web." A normal web shot out and hit Miles in the chest. Peter cursed as Miles ripped it off effortlessly and let it fall, courtesy of his super strength.

"Aw," Miles taunted. "Your fancy suit can't help you Pete. It's gonna be old school."

"Doesn't matter, I'll still kick your a-"

Miles sprinted forward and Peter sidestepped, using Miles' momentum to keep him going forward. He hit the wall hard and Peter punched him in the back, grabbing his waist and flipping him over his shoulder. Miles fell behind him and grabbed Peter's ankles before he could turn, yanking them out from under him. 

Peter's upper body hit the wall and he cried out, falling to the side and kicking backward, feeling his heel hit Miles' in the face. They both got to their feet, staggering. 

Miles groaned, snapping his nose back and snarling, "You broke my nose. And then it healed. And then you broke it again."

"Third time's the charm," Peter snarled, kicking him in the face before he tackled him. They fell, slamming into the ground and Miles threw Peter off him with anger, getting up and kicking him in the side. Peter twisted with the hit and bounced to his feet, ducking the next punch Miles' threw. Then he shot his hand down to catch the other first that lashed out for his stomach. 

"You have no idea how bad I've wanted to do this," Peter snarled, grabbing both Miles' wrists and twisting them into his chest. 

"Touche," Miles grinned, shuffling him backward. 

Peter curled his lip, his nostrils flaring, "This is payback for shooting me." He elbowed Miles across the face and planted a kick in his gut, spinning and shooting web at his old friend who ducked to avoid it. Miles' gaze shifted and he webbed the door they had broken down while fighting, swinging it into Peter. 

He braced as it slammed into him, knocking him across the room. Peter clawed at the ground, raising himself in pain, wincing, "Oh so new rule, we can use objects?"

"Yeah," Miles snarled, swinging it again. Peter caught it as it hit him, grabbing the end of it. Miles lunged forward and pressed down on the top, kicking his ankle. Peter was knocked onto his back and he hit the ground hard, Miles pressing the door against his stomach. Peter strained to push back against it. 

"Face it Pete," Miles said breathlessly. "You can't beat me."

"Can you get off your pedestal for one frickin second," Peter groaned, his arms shaking under the weight. He kicked his legs, trying to squirm away, and Miles drove a heel into his thigh. Peter cried out, gritting his teeth before he took a deep breath, let go of his hold and shot a web at Miles' face. 

The door crushed Peter's ribs and he gasped, yanking on the web as hard as he could. Miles let go as his head hit the metal and he flipped over, tumbling and hitting the ground right behind Peter. Peter scrambled around, spinning and kicking Miles in the head as he tried to get up, grabbing his side. 

Miles jumped up faster than Peter expected and shot two webs at either wall next to him, crossing his arms and yanking. Peter jumped to the ceiling as Miles yelled and pulled the webs, the pieces of wall colliding where he had been standing. He jumped down and ran forward, sliding under Miles' legs as he tried to deck him with an arm before he shot a web at the door. It clattered across the ground and Peter brought it up as a shield. 

"Not this time," he snarled. Miles' fist sank into the metal and Peter grit his teeth and pushed hard, slamming his friend backward. 

Peter threw the door aside and saw Miles web the wall to gain momentum as he flung himself forward. Peter swerved his head and caught Miles' punch, throwing one of his own and twisting his wrist out of Miles' grasp. He kneed Miles in the stomach, who snarled and slammed his forehead into his. Shaking out the white spots of his red vision, Peter snarled and dove his fist forward into Miles' gut, pushing him against the wall. Peter slapped his hand away and pressed his forearm against Miles' throat as his wrist was grabbed and locked around his other arm. 

"You get stronger when you're angry," Miles grins as they tighten their hold on one another. "Just a tip."

"Shut up," Peter seethed. Both of his hands were locked but Miles had a free arm that was just pushing back against Peter. He steeled himself for the pain he knew was about to come. It was what he would do.

Miles was struggling but he grinned, shoving his fist into Peter's side, knowing that's where Peter's wound was. Peter screamed but didn't let up pressure on Miles' throat with his arm, despite the knuckles mercilessly digging into his cut.

"Knock, knock, is Peter Parker home? How's that vision of yours Pete?

"It's Peter," Peter gasped.

Miles made a face, "Eh- I think I'm gonna stick with Pete. I did make up the nickname after all."

"Shut up," Peter swore, faltering as he felt Miles' knuckles grind deeper into his cut, pain shooting up his back making him flinch.

"Still red? I think you're holding back a bit," he taunted. Miles twisted his hand inside Peter's wound and his gaze darkened, fueled by Peter's reaction. He arched his back and letting out a strangled yell but still managed to keep Miles pinned.

"Dang- you aren't that skinny kid who couldn't take a punch anymore," Peter panted.

"Give it up Pete," Miles snarled, wheezing as well as Pete's arm grew slightly tighter pressed against his neck. Peter's glare was fierce, pain filling his gaze. "You're practically fighting yourself. You can't beat me. I am stronger than you, I am better than you- You. Can't. Win. The only reason you've gotten this far without me killing you is because that's not what Caine wants-"

"Screw Caine," Peter cried out, pain shooting from his side almost making his knees buckle. "You do everything he says? Are you a good little soldier?"

"I don't have to be," Miles says, smiling as Peter's arm loosens as he digs his knuckles in deeper, feeling blood drip down his hand. "The other reason is because we're still brothers."

"My brother," Peter hissed, flinching and squirming as he tried to maintain his grip, "died the minute he said yes to working with HYDRA. I don't know who you are anymore."

Something clicked in Miles' gaze and a screen of genuine sadness and confusion came over his face. For a second Peter saw the eyes of his friend as Miles murmured, "I'm sorry-"

Then his face changed into a confused snarl and he nodded, looking down at Peter, "Alright. Have it your way Pete." 

Peter screamed as Miles punched his cut, losing his grip. Miles grabbed him by the throat and Peter choked, gripping his arm as Miles raised him off his feet and threw him across the room. Peter rolled to try and absorb the hit but it still made him groan on his back for a split second before the adrenaline kicked in.

This is what HYDRA trained him for. Getting back up. Peter's eyes flashed and his vision, dark red, sharpened. He staggered to his feet fueled by raw fury but a kick was planted in his chest before he could even raise his gaze and he went flying back, his head cracking against the ground. 

Peter rolled over onto his side and coughed up blood, getting to his feet for the second time. 

"And he gets up again!" Miles mocked, clapping loudly, circling him. "I have given you so many chances Peter- so many!" he swore.

"You want a thank you card?" Peter slurred, spitting out blood. 

"You know what? I'm tired of your sarcasm," Miles said, shooting a web that latched on to Peter's ankle. He pulled it forward and Peter fell backwards, hitting the ground before he thrashed, trying to yank it off as he was dragged across the floor. 

"It's a cover up for the fact that you have no self confidence, or let me rephrase- you don't give a crap about yourself. You're anger is clouding your judgement right now, Pete. You're mad because I ruined you," he hissed.

Miles was on him in an instant, grabbing Peter's shoulder and yanking him up, punching him across the face. "You opened up to me, you trusted me, you let your guard down around me, and then I stabbed you in the back."

"Shut up," Peter groaned, grabbing Miles' wrist and twisting it as he tried to hit him again. Miles easily shook his arm out of Peter's grasp.

"It ruined you didn't it? It changed you. You say you're fine but you're not, you never have been and you never will be. You tell yourself it's because of the physical torture of what they did to you there, but we both know that's not true." Miles punched him again, stopping every other hit to gloat. "It's me, it's the fact that I left you and watched, stayed behind the glass for the next six years and you can't bear to face that ugly truth!"

Peter could barely see his eye was so swollen. His lip was busted and he was struggling to breath; the hits just wouldn't stop coming, with more force than he was used to. Every punch sent his head reeling so far to the side he swore his neck was going to break. He grabbed Miles' collar and looked up at him in anger, not able to form words. 

"I have left you _so screwed up_ to the point where you have to look over your shoulder every time someone is nice to you," Miles snarled.

Peter choked on his own blood and coughed, gripping Miles' shirt harder.

"And I never should have done it-" Miles faltered, staring down at Peter in shock. Peter looked up at him in confusion and fear. Miles made eye contact with him and then his lip curled and he shook his head as if he forgot what he was saying. When Peter blinked, Miles' gaze was set again.

Peter swung in desperation- a lazy punch- and Miles caught his wrist, his gaze going dark. He jabbed his elbow into the side of Peter's head and let his wrist fall. Peter went limp underneath him, trying to breathe. He could barely lift his hand.

Miles' voice was just as cold as it was before and he lowered it, whispering, "Tell me Pete, do you remember how it felt when I turned around with that apologetic look in my eyes and...and...leveled that gun and shot you?"

Something happened just then. A line was crossed. Peter let out a yell, energy surging through him caused by more anger than he had ever felt. In a furious rage he brought his knee up into Miles' back. His friend buckled forward and Peter wrenched his wrist up and slammed his elbow into his face. Miles was off balance and Peter bucked upward, hooking his legs around his waist. He grabbed Miles' arm and yanked it to the side as he rolled, bringing himself down on top of him with the kick to the back. 

He punched Miles in the face, hard, and his old friend pushed weakly on his chest, surprised by the sudden attack. Peter refused to let his opportunity go to waste and he punched again his vision narrowing. In other circumstances, he would have been scared. Right now he was just angry. The color left his gaze- it was just red and Peter couldn't stop, punching and punching, his hands shaking from how hard he clenched his fists, his knuckles bleeding. 

"Wait-" Miles choked out, his teeth lined with blood.

A crack in Miles' tone made him look down. Sure enough Miles' gaze was flickering...changing....different. Something was wrong. He should stop. 

But Peter didn't stop, he could barely hear Miles' pleas. All he knew was that his mission was to kill the boy underneath him. That boy was still breathing. He had promised to kill him- he remembered that- but what for? Why was he trying to kill his old friend? Peter didn't remember. He didn't care. 

"Peter wait-" Miles stuttered groggily. 

Peter cut his words off with another punch, his fist aching. He fisted Miles' collar and slammed him into the ground, once, twice.

"Please-"

Peter repeatedly hit him, fury taking over him, and eventually Miles stopped fighting.

Peter slammed his knuckles into Miles jaw so hard he think he broke a finger before he collapsed, his palms hitting the ground around Miles' head. Peter was breathing hard, exhausted, Miles barely breathing underneath him. 

Peter lay there for a minute, gasping for breath, Miles coughing beneath him, blood staining Peter's hands. The suit had broken due to the severity of the hits. 

"Good work Pete."

Peter spun in shock. Caine walked in with a smile, his hands in his pockets. He was in a tailored suit, his hair slicked back. Peter got off Miles and staggered for him, body beaten and covered in blood, his suit cracked and breaking off. "Was he telling the truth?" he demanded.

"Ah, he told you. Perfect," Caine said happily when Peter was a couple feet away. 

Peter stopped walking. "That you set me up? Was he lying? Tell me," he demanded. "WAS HE LYING?"

Caine smirked, "No."

Peter felt like he had been shot through the chest. He staggered, hot tears building up against his red vision. 

"Did you ever find it odd that you were out of your cell the minute the Avengers attacked? Or that nobody tried to stop you on the way out? Or why the compound didn't go into lock down? Everything happened for a reason." Caine said firmly, a twinge of sadness in his voice.

Peter couldn't look at him. He dropped to one knee, breathing hard. His head was spinning.

He had thought he got out. But he hadn't.

He never had. 

"Of course we planned that Peter," Caine said with a smile. "We knew they were on our tail, we knew they were getting close. So I laid the trail of bread crumbs myself. Everything the Avengers did was under my terms. That's how we win Peter, we make them play our game."

"I am _not_ a piece on your frickin chess board! My life," Peter yelled, shaking in anger, "is not one of your games!"

"I beg to differ," Caine smirked.

"Everything that happened to me..." Peter said weakly.

"I wanted it to happen," Caine nodded with a shrug. "You needed..." he searched for the right word, "hope."

He paced, looking at Peter sadly, "They had practically stripped you of it. You had nothing to live for, which made you impossible to break. I needed to give you something. The Avengers. A family. You even got a chance to _try_ and use your powers for good. You even made a up a name for yourself, what was it... Spiderboy?" Caine chuckled and Peter winced. The man's gaze went dark and he spit out, "It's cute. That you could think that would ever be your life."

"And Ben?" Peter quickly changed the subject. He felt empty inside, knowing everything was a lie, but he still felt like he should ask about the death of a man he knew for only a couple months. There was no pain in his heart from mentioning Ben's name, just the hollow feeling of knowing his life was just a part of Caine's plan. "Was Miles lying or did you have something to do with that?"

Caine smiled, "Peter when will you learn we don't lie to you? No, the incident with Ben...that was...unfortunate. I had been keeping tabs on your aunt and uncle for a long time. I could have had them killed, but they was also part of the plan. They needed to be there for you, to give you something you always wanted. I didn't realize how well it worked in my favor I mean, with you going after the killer? It really lifted my spirits about all of this. I knew you could do it once that raw anger came over you. I wanted you to kill the man, I mean," Caine laughed, "you did kill him but _Tony_ stepped in before you could actually-"

Peter snarled, anger flashing in his eyes as he shouted, "You were _watching me?_ You son of a-"

"Yes, we monitored your progress after you left the base," Caine admitted before scoffing. "You can cut the snarl, it won't do you any good," he sighed, waving his hand.

"You don't intimidate me Peter. I control you. I have been behind the wheel your entire life, I know your every move, like I've proven, I know your deepest darkest secrets- I almost know you better than you know yourself," Caine said. He didn't say it like a jab, he said it like it was a known fact.

"Why me?" Peter whispered brokenly, feeling vulnerable and exposed. "Why did you do it to me?"

Caine looked at him and gave him a small smile, "Because you were the one Peter. Ever since that spider bit you we have been fascinated with your abilities. Your character. Your personality, your wit, your will- all of it. You truly are my greatest creation."

Peter looked up furiously but his voice had no anger in it, "I'm not your-"

"But you are," Caine admitted. "With you, it worked. With you, it's all possible. I knew it would take patience- _years_ of proper guiding...facilitation, if you would, without you knowing of course, to get you to the exact spot you needed to be. Right here. They gave Hersh first chance, six years of it, but when _my_ _brother_ couldn't break you, I decided to take over, which led to your 'escape'. And sure enough, I did, in less than an hour, what he couldn't do in six years. " 

"You let your own brother die, just to get to me?" Peter marveled in disgusted awe. 

"It was never about him," Caine waved his hand. "Hersh knew that. He was expendable. Just as you will be. But for right now, you're the most important person in the world," he said with a smile.

"You expect me to be flattered?" Peter scoffed.

"You know, Miles was right. That humor is just a cover up." Caine made a face and walked forward, but then he turned and went over to Miles instead, his eyebrows raising as if he had forgotten about him. Peter's old friend was on the ground struggling the breathe and Caine looked him over, whistling. "Wow. You did more damage than I thought. That's good Peter, it's a good start."

Miles gripped Caine's pant leg when he got close enough, his swollen eyes begging for approval as he strained, choking on blood. His voice was slurred, "I did- what you asked-"

"Yes Miles, you did very well," Caine said gently, kneeling down and touching his shoulder. 

Miles' gaze changed when Caine brushed his arm and suddenly his face contorted with horror. With a strangled scream, he twisted away from him and his crumpled gaze found Peter as he tried to scramble back on a broken arm. Peter didn't remember breaking it. Miles' eyes widened with shock and a twisted smile came on his lips. "Pete?"

Peter knit his eyebrows, looking at him in confusion.

Miles could barely sit up on his elbow and he shook his head, swaying from side to side, his eyes fluttering, as his gaze filled with horror. He gasped, "Pete- what- no-" Miles blinked in confusion and pain, his hands suddenly coming up his temples as he curled up on himself. He screamed, twisting on the ground. 

"What- what's wrong with him?" Peter asked with barely any concern, watching as his old friend writhed on the ground, clutching his head and yelling in pain. 

"He's remembering," Caine sighed. "I had hoped it would hold off a little longer."

Peter's raised an eyebrow, not surprised, simply wondering what it entailed, "You brainwashed him?" The moments where Miles had faltered in his cruel stare came rushing on him, as far back to when he had been with Tony. Peter recognized that it had slowly gotten worse, but now the wall was crumbling down. That posed the question...what was Miles and what was HYDRA?

"He's not you Peter," Caine shook his head sadly. "Giving him the bite...had some side affects. He is besides the point- what matters, is you."

Peter stared at him for a second before he nodded. "Ok, I've had enough," he sighed, before he turned around and walked to the door.

His gaze was fierce. At that moment he didn't care about anything. He didn't even know what he was doing. He was a different person. He was a killer. He had to leave. Why was he even here in the first place? What had he done to get to this point?

He had barely taken three steps when Caine asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving," Peter said plainly.

Caine smirked, "Really?"

"Yes," Peter said.

Caine crossed his arms behind him, "Fine, walk out that door. Who's gonna take you in? You gonna live on the streets? You're still seeing red," Caine called. "Aren't you?"

"I've dealt with it before, I'll deal with it again," Peter said, but he wasn't moving forward. He was just staring at the door he knew he would never get to walk out on his own accord.

"The Avengers will find you," Caine said calmly, "if we don't find you first. And what happens if you hurt Tony? A hit too hard could paralyze him."

Peter didn't know why that made his chest tighten, or why it made his hands curl. He barely remembered who Tony was. He wasn't supposed to feel anything. But he found himself pissed at what Caine had said and he swore, "Shut up."

"What happens if May yells at you for being gone to long and you can't help it and just push her too hard-" Caine's voice grew stronger.

"That's enough!" Peter said firmly, spinning around.

"Try and switch back Peter, do it, try it," Caine seethed. "Try and calm down, go back to normal. Flip that switch back, I won't stop you. Do it," he taunted, urging him in mockery. 

Peter's glare faltered as he realized Caine was right. He grit his teeth, "I-"

"Come on Pete, pretend that you don't need to go and punch Miles seventy more times to feel at least an inkling of satisfaction," he said and Peter's gaze flicked to his friend who was still curled on the ground, his hands shaking as he let out strangled sobs. His glare faltered. 

"By all means, wipe out the red," Caine said happily. 

"I can't," Peter snarled. 

"That's right, you can't, because this is who you are. Who you were always meant to be. That blood on your hands feels good right now. You punched so hard you broke your suit!" he noticed with a small laugh. "That red feels normal. You try and hate it, you can _tell me_ you hate it Peter, but it's the real you. And deep down you know that. You don't hate it, no, you've _accepted_ it."

"Say you're right?" Peter said weakly. "What do you want from me?"

"I need you to do something for me," Caine said. Peter nodded. Caine's lips twisted into a grin, "You're a killer yes?"

"Yes," Peter nodded without thinking.

"Good," Caine shrugged. He walked over and reached to grab Miles' collar, pulling him to his feet. Miles yelled in pain but soon it turned into desperation. He struggled, trying to grab the hand that was dragging him forward, but Peter had beaten him up more than he had thought, and whatever was going on in his head wasn't helping.

"No," Miles moaned. Caine brought him to his knees with a swift kick the back of his leg and he struggled, straining on the floor, forced in front of Peter.

"Do you care about him Pete?" Caine asked simply, his grip on Miles tightening to the point where it looked painful. 

Peter locked eyes with Miles who was terrified. He then looked back up to Caine and shook his head, speaking firmly. "No."

Caine nodded, "Then kill him."

Miles twisted in his grasp crying, "Caine- that wasn't the-" then he buckled forward, squeezing his eyes shut and screaming. When he looked up he thrashed even more, crying out to the man behind him, "Let go of me psychopath-"

His gaze found Peter and he blinked, shaking his head as much as he could with Caine's grip on his hair. "Pete? What are you doing here? Caine- you- you told me he escaped- you told me he got out-" Miles sobbed, looking at Peter in utter horror and relief, "Peter, it's me, don't you remember? It's me, it's Miles- Peter, what-"

Peter walked forward calmly. 

"What are you doing?" Miles sobbed. 

"You want this all to be over Peter," Caine said firmly, tightening his grip on the squirming teenager. "Don't you?"

Peter nodded dumbly, stopping a foot from his old friend and looking down on him. 

"Good," Caine said firmly. "So kill him."

"Peter- that wasn't me- I would have never hurt you-" Miles sobbed. "They set me up-"

Caine tightened his grip around Miles' shirt, choking him but Peter's eyes flashed and he glared at Caine who released it allowing Miles to sob, "They told me if I stayed they would let you go- Caine you told me he escaped with the Avengers- you're not supposed to be here!" Miles screamed in fury, tears streaming down his bloody cheeks. He gulped down air, gasping, "Peter please, you have to believe me-"

"Is he telling the truth?" Peter asked, looking up at Caine. 

"It doesn't matter Peter," Caine snapped. 

Peter stuttered in confusion, his mind splitting. He curled his fist, shaking his head, "But if it wasn't him- he's innocent- you lied to him- he tried to save me-"

"Do you care?" Caine demanded. "Answer the question Peter, do you care?"

Peter knew he should care. It made sense. Miles hadn't been given an out. They had offered Peter an out. Miles had done what they had asked and they had double-crossed him. They held him in captivity, forced him into genetic mutation, brainwashed him to the point where he barely knew who he was anymore, warped his own memory so badly that it was twisted even in his mind. Miles might have been watching that entire time- HYDRA could have used Peter to blackmail him-

Peter winced, shutting out the thoughts that were screaming in his head. There was a voice inside him that said he should care about what he had just realized, even if it wasn't true. There was doubt in what he thought was the truth and he should care about that. He felt he wasn't human if he didn't care. But the voice wasn't loud enough. 

Did he care?

"No," he whispered. He reached forward and curled his hand around Miles' throat. 

Miles choked, sucking in a breath. He clawed at Peter's arm, squeezing it, begging, "Pete please- it's me- please-"

Peter faltered, looking at him in confusion. He cocked his head, trying to concentrate. His gaze was on his hand, forcing it to squeeze. Block him out Peter. 

Why? Because he was right? Because he was reminding you that you are a killer? That you're about to kill the one friend you always had, even if you thought he betrayed you-

"It's me- Peter don't. You're better than this," he pleaded. "I don't know what I did to you- I don't know- I'm sorry- I don't know-" 

Peter's grip tightened with a narrowing of his eyes and he set his brow. Miles choked, tears spilling out of his black and swollen eyes. 

"Pete-" Miles whispered, his eyes begged. He was scared. Of him. Miles was scared of him. Peter was killing him. He was- 

Peter stared at him with confusion. Why was he hesitating? Why was his hand slowly releasing? Why was he letting him breathe? Peter was shaking, his head split, his ears pounding, his chest tight. The room was spinning and Peter winced, flinching as he fought an internal battle. 

"Kill him Peter! Kill him now!" Caine urged.

Peter suddenly released his hand, shaking his head. "N-no- no. I won't."

He was screaming at himself to kill Miles, but something stopped him. Peter knew if there was any doubt in his mind he should stick to it. 

He shook his head, uncurling his fingers. Peter stumbled a couple steps back as Miles gasped for air, sucking in a massive breath and coughing. 

Peter looked at his old friend and took a breath, afraid to look up at the man who was furious with him.

"How dare you," Caine snarled, a look of rage coming on his face as he tossed Miles aside roughly.

Peter flinched as his friend hit the ground, his head smacking against the concrete. Miles choked and tried to push himself up on his elbows before he collapsed and just rolled over, still coughing and gasping for air, clutching his broken arm to his chest as he retched.

"I'm done playing games Peter," Caine snarled. "Join me. Kill him. You come with me, you help me and this all goes away. The pain is gone. You can save lives Peter."

"Give it up Caine," Peter said weakly. "The answer is no."

Miles made eye contact with him and gave him a sad but proud smile. Peter returned it. 

"You're gonna regret that Peter." Caine pulled out the gun and leveled it with fury in his cold gaze. His hand was steady. Peter made eye contact with Miles. His friend's eyes widened. 

Both boys flinched as Caine pulled the trigger.

Both boys sucked in a breath.

They both knew it wouldn't miss. 

The bullet sank into his chest and for a second there was silence. Horrible and terrifying silence. The shot was still echoing in the room, making Peter's ears ring. Miles gasped and Peter couldn't breathe.

Then he choked, looking down at the red veins spreading from the center of his shirt. He looked up to meet the eyes of his horrified friend, blood spilling from his mouth before he collapsed onto his side.

"NO!" Peter screamed, surging forward. "Miles-"

Miles was shaking on his side before he fell onto his back, his teeth grit with pain, his shirt drenched in blood. His hands were shaking as they tried to press against the bullet wound in his chest.

Peter was in shock. Caine had pulled the trigger at such speed, without hesitation, at point blank range...he had just shot Miles in the chest and Peter had been selfish and close minded enough to think it was going to be him who was feeling the bullet dig into his skin.

His eyes were on his friend and Peter took a large lunge forward but he was cut short.

"Ah, ah, back Peter," Caine warned, leveling the gun at him, stepping in between him and Miles. "I shot Miles, don't think I won't shoot you."

"You just made a big mistake. Now I'm pissed," Peter swore, his chest heated, his fists clenched. He could hear Miles choking on his own blood as he tried to breathe, mere feet in front of him. 

"I don't care," Caine hissed. "You were supposed to be the one Peter. The one who didn't fail. Who was broken so many times but only shattered once. You were supposed to bring stability to this organization, make people believe in us again. You were supposed to kill him!"

"Well I'm sorry I failed you," Peter spit. 

"You should be," Caine said, punching Peter hard across the face. He stumbled, feeling his cheek in shock before Caine punched him again and Peter almost fell, his eyes wide with terror. "Seven years," Caine seethed, an anger in his eyes that almost rivaled Peter's. "Almost seven years of preparation, all because of you, it was all because of you Peter, and you don't give me what I want-"

"My sincerest apologizes," Peter choked weakly, not able to even fake a smile. He was downright terrified. Caine had broke a wall earlier, a wall that led into his fear, and now he was just using that entrance for his personal pleasure. 

"This is where I do remind you of my brother," Caine said firmly, advancing on Peter with a confidence and ferocity that made Peter feel like he was ten again. "Which is why you won't kill me. You couldn't kill Hersh, no matter how many times he hit you, held your head underwater, made you feel like nothing-"

"Shut up!" Peter swore, stepping backward faster as Caine picked up his pace.

"You could have snapped his neck with your bare hands Peter, why didn't you?" Caine asked, yelling the answer the next second. "Because he was the only person who scared you, who could hurt you, who got under your skin. Well now he's dead and you thought you were done? I'm taking his place," Caine hissed.

"This is the side you didn't want to see Peter," Caine said furiously, storming after Peter who had nowhere to go in his mind. Caine smiled widely, "I am in your head. You still feel the old wounds, don't you? The water rushing in your ears, closing over your head. Your lungs start to burn a bit and you press your mouth shut as you try not to breathe in but it just hurts so bad and you can feel it in your nose-"

"I'm warning you," Peter hissed. 

"What," Caine demanded, cornering him. "What, what are you gonna do? You say you're so strong but you're not, you're too weak to fight back."

"That's not true-" Peter said weakly.

"Prove me wrong then," Caine hissed, grabbing Peter and shoving him against the wall.

"Your entire life you have been tortured to the point where you can't breathe. Where you can't see because of the blood in your eyes. Well right now Peter that's not blood, you're just seeing red. Because you have _always_ been a killer, there is no escaping what you already know. It's there to stay, inside you. HYDRA made you Peter, and you can't escape us. You will see me every time you close my eyes, you will see my brother, you will see the men that cranked that electric shock machine up to the max. But the worst part wasn't the pain, the worst part was how bad you wanted that pain to stop- and what you were willing to do to make it stop-"

Peter's chest had been boiling and he finally let out a scream, shoving Caine off him as he collapsed onto all fours, breathing hard and gasping. Flashbacks pummeled him and Peter couldn't escape. He felt like he was drowning in them. Screams filled his ears, his muscles spazzed, when he opened his eyes all he saw was Hersh standing over him, then Caine. 

Miles turned and shot him in the chest before he ran up the stairs as Peter fell to one knee. Then another shot echoed as his friend slumped in the doorway with a bullet to the head. His own scream made his ears ring and Peter sobbed, ducking his head into his chest.

He suddenly heard a clatter and saw the gun in the middle of the floor. He picked it up chucked it into the glass, knowing it was a blank. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

His head was held underwater as he screamed, choking on the blood, his lungs burning, his ribs aching from being pressed against the tub. 

His wrists bruised and bloody from struggling, pushed in a cell, the floor wet and cold. He stayed where he fell, not daring to move, barely able to suck in a breath from broken ribs. He could feel the blood everywhere on his body, his head exploding with pain.

This was real. This wasn't in his head. He had lived this. And now he was going to live it all again.

"You failed Peter. You had one job, one purpose for your pathetic existence and you failed," Caine hissed.

Peter couldn't move but internally a small voice was screaming in triumph, that maybe this meant it was over and his powers would die with him that he didn't give Caine what he wanted.

"You are still useful though," Caine's voice seemed underwater as he snarled in his ear, yanking Peter's head up with a firm grip on his hair and sticking a needle into his neck. Peter screamed.

"Miles' method of enhancement had some bumps," Caine admitted, "but there is always room for improvement. Cheating the system is possible. And doable. Just with more pain. Because of your failure, millions more have to suffer. All because of you Peter."

Peter convulsed, his mouth opening in a silent scream. He thrashed and yelled inside his head but in reality he was frozen, unable to break out of the world he was trapped in, the sounds overwhelming, the pain unbearable. The walls were closing in on him and he had no way of stopping it.

Suddenly Caine broke through all of those walls and curtains and he smiled, "I have the same eyes as my brother, don't I Pete?"

Peter struggled, and he felt a shove in the back of his shoulder. His world flipped, spiraling back to him the minute his head smacked the ground and he lay still. His vision was fuzzy as he blinked tears out of his eyes. He was shaking, struggling to breathe, the cold floor making him shiver and clench his fists. He couldn't move. Miles was on the floor same as him, towards the center of the room, choking on his own blood. 

Peter stared at him, his muscles tense, his mind whirling. Tears built up in his eyes and his hands gripped the ground as he shook. Peter lay still, unable to move. 

Tony wanders down the hallway, walking down a set of steps and peeking into an empty room. He wonders how Rhodey was doing. They had come to a split hallway and Tony and convinced him to separate. He wasn't about to risk going the wrong way and finding nothing when Peter could be down the opposite hall. When Rhodey pointed out his broken suit, Tony gave him a glare that scared him so bad he said that it would be enough to kill any HYDRA agent.

"I gotta hand it to HYDRA, this base is extensive. Check for any passages FRIDAY. If something's out of place, I want to know about it."

 _"Wall to your left. I'm detecting an air current,"_ she says. 

"That works." Tony turns and steps out of the breaking suit. He presses his hands against the wall and looks it over, his gaze scanning it. "Sentry mode." Tony's suit puts its palm up, shining a light on the stone. He feels around, his fingers curling around a raised portion and Tony sucks in a breath, "Please be a secret door, please be a secret door, please be a-"

The door sinks in and slides out and Tony grins, the suit forming over his body again. "Yay," he says happily, staring forward. 

"FRIDAY send out a signal, tell them I've got something."

 _"I have no signal in this hallway,"_ FRIDAY says nervously. _"If you walk back out I can maybe acquire a-"_

"No- no," Tony shakes his head. "I'm not doing that. Every second I'm spending here and Peter is alone with that psychopath." He continues walking quickly down the hall, hearing voices around the corner. Tony spins and fires, taking out two guards that don't even have time to reach for their guns. He flies forward, sliding on one knee, blasting a man's feet out from under him. Tony flips up and slams his fist down onto his back, spinning and shooting a beam at the door to his left. It flies off it's hinges and crashes into the man trying to get out. 

Tony storms forward, snatching a gun and breaking it in half, swinging it and blasting it into the guard's chest. He put his palm up, "Don't move."

The last man left was sitting frozen in the chair, his hands up. A panel of switches and buttons was in front of him, computer screens lit up with security cameras, most of the footage fuzzy and unrecognizable. 

"Caine, where is he?" Tony demands. 

The man shakes his head and Tony blasts the legs off the chair he was sitting in, toppling him to the floor. The man scrambles away and Tony cuts him off, yanking him to his feet and slamming him against the wall. 

"Caine has a kid. Where are they?" He yells furiously. 

The man points to the control panel just as a sound of static reaches Tony's ears. It's a man in another language and Tony doesn't even give FRIDAY time to tell him what it says. Rage is boiling in his chest and he's pissed and desperate. 

"Where are they? Which room?" Tony seethes, putting his palm up, a blast heating right by the man's face. 

The man screams something and FRIDAY translates, _"Seventh room down the left hallway and down the steps."_

"I'll figure that out," Tony snarls, blasting the wall right next to the man's head. He knocks him out as the speaker crackles again. 

"FRIDAY translate it," Tony demands. 

_"It's Caine. He says he has a sample from the boy. He wants a guard to come down and analyze it and proceed into phase-"_

"FRIDAY get in contact with the team and notify me when you do. Tell them what Caine's expecting about the guard." He had seconds to sum up what he wanted them to do. "Say they should take a card of out Agent Maria Hill's book. Nat, Steve and Sam will understand."

Tony then hurriedly grabs the microphone and growls, "You listen to me, you sick son of-"

The man stops talking and laughs. _"Tony Stark. I don't think we've been formally introduced. I thought Miles took care of you."_

"He tried," Tony shot. "Where's my kid?" he demanded furiously.

 _"Peter's here,"_ Caine says simply before adding, _"He can't talk at the moment."_

"What did you do to him?" Tony whispered threateningly.

 _"You don't scare me Tony,"_ Caine had the nerve to laugh.

"I should," Tony snapped before repeating his question more violently, "What did you do to Peter?"

_"You should be proud of him. Peter failed me. But, now he's useless."_

"Caine, if you hurt him, I will rip you apart, do you understand me?" Tony swore. 

_"Crystal clear. I won't need to hurt him. In fact, I'm giving him what he always wanted-"_

"No-" Tony spluttered.

_"A way out."_

"I'm coming for you," Tony said quietly, his hands shaking. 

_"You'll be too late. And even if you get here in time...Peter isn't exactly Peter anymore."_

"I'm gonna kill you. I will kill you, I swear to God," Tony swore, his voice breaking. 

_"Bye Stark."_

Tony had expected a longer conversation. He dropped the microphone and lunged outside, running down the hall and sprinting around the corner. 

"Peter. Get up."

Peter blinked, coughing, his vision coming back to him. A rough kick to his side makes him curl up and Peter opens his eyes, gasping as he scrambles to get on all fours. Red drips down his vision and he can't tell if it's his eyesight or blood anymore. He can't breathe, the pain in his side is too great. The floor is covered in his blood. His head is spinning; Peter almost collapses onto his side. He can barely hear; it all sounds like it's underwater. 

Caine kicks him again and Peter takes it this time but he hears a low groan from the middle of the room, "Caine- stop-"

Peter looks up weakly and sees Miles, sitting in a puddle of blood but still breathing, and very much in pain. His gaze is directed at Caine as he winces, struggling to breathe. "Stop it," Miles repeats weakly.

"Miles," Caine says, with a forced smile on his face. "You're still with us."

"I guess I'm hard to kill," Miles coughs out, his voice portraying almost exactly how he looks. 

Caine rolls his eyes and looks over at Peter, kneeling to where he is breathing hard, trying to focus himself. He grabs Peter's chin and lifts it. "Looks like our time has come to a end Peter."

"Do me a favor, just let me bleed out. Save the monologue," Peter says, blood dripping from his mouth. 

Caine shrugs, letting his head drop and Peter almost collapses since his head dips to his chest. "I'm not going to stop you Peter, I just want to make sure you know what you did," he says quietly. "Stand up."

Peter fists his hands that are flat on the ground and he presses hard against them, bringing his feet slowly into his chest and staggering to stand. He stumbles a bit and then straightens, trying to keep the flashbacks at bay. The wound in his side is bleeding profusely, spilling down his suit, and Peter feels woozy. The room isn't in focus in front of him.

Caine stands there, watching him with silent rage and Peter has no strength to fight him. He doesn't want anymore pain. He just wants the pounding in his head and the ringing in his ears to stop. He wants to collapse back onto the floor and not get back up. 

"This," Caine says, holding up the needle he had shoved in Peter's neck. "Is your blood."

"Fascinating," Peter mumbles.

"It's what we'll use to force genetic enhancement on hundreds of kids. Let me tell you Pete, what Miles went through was hell, but what they'll go through..." he scoffed, "It's much, much worse. If you had just helped me, stayed with me, done what I had asked- it would have been so much easier-"

"I would have never gotten out," Peter said quietly. 

"But does that matter? You'd be saving hundreds," Caine shook his head. 

"And killing millions-" Peter said, cut off by a slap. 

"Now that you can't get off your pedestal and refuse to help me, kids have to die. They have to be taken from their families, just like you were, and they have to be tortured until they give in. And they _will_ give in because they are not like you Peter," there was a twinge of admiration in his twisted tone, "no one is like you."

"I know, I'm special," Peter slurred and Caine curled his fist. "Punch me all you want," he cut in, "I mean, if it makes you feel better, go for it. It's numb at this point. Just shoot me. I don't care anymore. If you haven't caught on," he slurs brokenly, "I'm used to screwing up."

Caine looked him over and nodded, pulling out the gun. He dumped the bullets into his pocket before he held one out in front of Peter, loaded it into the gun and laid it on the ground. Then Caine turned around and walked to the door.

Peter stared at it dumbly. 

"One bullet Pete. You know who it's for. I told you when we first met. My brother gave you a blank, but I won't," he called over his shoulder.

"NO!" Miles yelled weakly. "Peter don't- this is what he wants- don't let him win- you can stop him just- PETER!"

Caine kicked Miles hard in the chest as he passes him. Peter flinches as his friend coughed up blood, sobbing in pain, clutching his wound, tears streaming down his cheeks as he cradled his broken arm, fear and disbelief plastered on his face.

"Stop," Peter whispered as Caine was about to kick him again. Caine sighed and stepped away from Miles who was curled up, slowly losing conciousness. 

"Peter don't-" Miles groaned as loud as he could, clawing forward as his head drooped. "Don't do it- Pete please-"

He looked at Miles. Then his gaze shifted to Caine who was waiting by the back door with a knowing smile. Peter found himself staring at the gun.

Tony surged forward and broke through the first door, slamming into the second one. It dented and Tony cursed, backing up and shaking out his hand that he had forgotten was no longer covered by his armor. "FRIDAY, show me something, pronto!"

A missile fired at the door and it exploded, Tony flying through the flames and bursting in the room. His eyes immediately found Peter, the kid faced away from him. His suit was literally stained and dripping blood. Miles was sitting in a pool of blood in the center of the room, looking at Peter fearfully. Caine was at the far end of the room with a sick smile on his face. Then Tony's gaze fell and he saw a gun in Peter's shaking hand. 

The minute Caine saw him he winked and slipped out. Tony raised a palm to fire but he realized it was too late, he had raised the wrong hand out of habit, and his attention was on Peter anyway. 

"Peter," Tony said softly, fury building up in his chest for the man that had gotten away. His voice remained gentle, "Hey kid."

"Tony, get out of here, now," Peter said quietly without turning around. His voice was deeper. Different. Broken.

"Yeah, funny joke," Tony scoffed, shaking his head. "I'm not going anywhere. Put the gun down, ok? We've done this once, we can do it again. I know what he did to you-"

Peter let out a small chuckle and Tony's brow furrowed. "No, we can't _do it again_ ," Peter said calmly. "It's different this time."

Miles clawed forward and cried out to him, coughing up blood, "The gun's- not for me- Tony-it's not- for me..."

Tony blanched. In that moment his world froze. Peter turned around. The kid gave a small smile that was drained of happiness, a shallow, empty look in his eyes. 

"Peter-" Tony choked, getting out of the suit and stepping forward. "Whatever you are thinking of doing, don't."

"Tony," Peter said quietly, tears in his eyes, "please, just leave. Please."

"Yeah, I leave and then what?" Tony asked firmly. "You die!"

Peter scoffed, "So?"

"So?" Tony repeated. "Peter-"

"I have screwed up one too many times Tony," Peter whispered. "And now Caine's gone. He's gonna kill people, because of me. People have gotten hurt because of me. Miles got hurt because of me-"

"Peter, no- don't-" Miles groaned, his trembling hand clasped over a blood-soaked shirt. Tony's gaze flicked to the boy on the ground and realized he was probably missing something. Miles was not the same kid who had punched off his helmet and the terrified look he had in his eyes for Peter rivaled his own.

Peter squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head fiercely, "I don't matter. I am a killer. I thought I could fight who I was, I did," Peter said brokenly, "I firmly believed I could not be what they made me...I was wrong. I saw red. I almost beat Miles to death-" he choked, sucking in a breath. "Tony- I am screwed up. I can't control it anymore, I flipped a switch that I don't even think I can turn back. The only thing I've done is put people in danger. You don't know me, right now I don't even know you- I don't know myself-"

"We'll figure that out kid," Tony promised. "We always figure it out. Look, they're in your head, you have to fight-"

"They're NOT!" Peter shouted desperately. "For once, they're not. For once, in my life, they're not in my head Tony!" He let out a laugh and it was surprisingly genuine. He smiled sadly, "I finally have a choice. This is my decision to make. And after a life of lies- I deserve one solid truth- that more people are safe- I just-" Peter's voice broke and he let out a strangeled cry, "I am tired of being a pawn. I don't want to be part of his game anymore-

"Peter-" Tony said brokenly. "We got you out and you had a life, you have to remember that- you saved people every day kid!"

"It was all part of his plan Tony!" Peter yelled, tears in his eyes.

Tony wasn't expecting that. "W-what?" he stuttered.

Peter nodded sarcastically, still trying to use humor as an escape, "Caine led you to the base. I was meant to get out, meant to meet you, meant to do everything I did, have a family, live a life, and come back here. No matter what I did they knew I would end up right here. I thought I was out, I thought I was making my own decisions but they were behind the wheel the entire time. Caine made sure I knew that," he spit. "It was all part of his plan. Everything I thought I got away from was just dragging me through the mud the entire time. Do you know how that feels?" he demanded.

"No," Tony shook his head, "but Peter, what you did, who you met, everything you went through, _you_ did that. So what if he let you get out? You still got out. You still saved lives. You overcame so much. All those memories you made, with Ned, with MJ, with the team, heck, with me kid..." Tony begged him to understand, "those are yours Peter! Don't make them something else HYDRA takes away from you, don't do that," he said sharply.

Peter cut him off. "I wanted to do it in there you know. That was the one thing about that base I didn't want to tell anyone, because that day made me feel so broken, so beaten. Hersh gave me a blank once. Just to...mess with me, I guess."

Tony's chest heated up at that and he didn't know what to say. He shook his head, "Peter, look at me. I'm not about to leave you kid," he said firmly. "Look at me Peter." 

"You don't know when to give up on me, do you?" Peter sobbed, making eye contact with him. 

"I guess not," Tony said with a small smile, stepping forward. "You're not someone I'm giving up on. Ever."

"I don't matter Tony. I don't," Peter shook his head fiercely, gritting his teeth. 

"You don't matter?" Tony repeated fiercely. "Peter, I killed all those men outside to save you. I have risked my life to save you, and I don't regret that for a second. I will do it again and again until I die kid." Tony pointed to the door that Caine snuck out of, "I let that evil piece of crap WALK and if I have to I will let everyone in this messed up organization go, _just to save you_. For all I care they can try and start this super secret club up again and I'll gladly tear it down each time for the rest of my life but I am _not doing this_ without you. You gotta see that, please Pete."

Tony walked closer to Peter who was staring at him with tears in his eyes. 

"You think I'm gonna let you go through with this, you're wrong. You think you don't matter, you are _wrong_. I will give you hundreds of reasons of why you do and when you think I'm done, I've barely hit the surface." Tony spread his hands as he kept advancing, keeping solid eye contact with Peter.

"I told you I couldn't lose you kid, and I meant it. You-" Tony's voice failed him and he looked at Peter, begging him to listen, "You are _the closest thing_ I have to a son, Peter, you do know that, right? You're my weak spot. You are _my_ kid. And I would do anything for you."

Tears were streaming down Peter's face and Tony took a shaky breath, cracking a nervous smile and swearing, "Now don't make me frickin stun you Parker," he said sharply, "cause' I swear to God I will. Just give me the gun," Tony said firmly, holding out his hand. 

Peter stared at him in shock, his hand still clenched around the gun at his side. 

"Peter, I'm begging you," Tony said weakly, within feet of him, "Trust me on this one. Please kiddo."

Peter blinked and then looked down. He nodded, and he shakily unloaded the gun in one fluid motion. The bullet fell to the floor and Peter handed the empty gun over to Tony, before his knees buckled. Hearing a sigh of relief from Miles who finally went still on his back, barely breathing, Tony's vision tunneled. There was only one person he cared about as he tossed the gun aside and he caught him. Tony closed his eyes, holding Peter tightly, his heart beating out of his chest. Peter was soaked in blood and he cried out, hugging Tony hard, burying his face into his shoulder. 

"I can't see. It's all red, I can't see-" he whimpered. 

"I know, I know," Tony said, taking a deep breath, clutching Peter against him in relief and shock. "It's gonna be ok."

"It's red- I can't block it out," Peter said with a strained voice. "I'm trying to block it out and I can't-"

"Let it go Pete," Tony said sinking to the ground with him, clutching Peter's head with the back of his hand in relief, his heart pounding. "It's ok. You're ok. I gotcha. Just let it go."

"I can't stop it," Peter cried.

"Because it isn't you," Tony said gently. "Where's my kid, huh? Where are you Pete, come back to me," Tony begged, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "Come on Spiderman."

Peter sobbed in his shoulder, squirming as he fought himself, eyes squeezed shut, hands in fists as Tony held him. Tears were in his eyes as well as he waited. He would gladly wait. Tony stared at the bullet on the ground that Peter had dropped and held the kid tighter. Peter sucked in a breath and held it, and Tony dared to hope.

A minute later Peter relaxed in Tony's arms and Peter took a deep breath. "You know..." the kid said weakly. "Spiderling did have a good ring to it."

"Don't you ever do that again, you understand me?" Tony hissed quietly. Peter nodded, tightening the hug as he trembled. 

"Caine-" Peter murmured, trembling in his arms. 

"Taken care of." Tony said firmly. "You don't have to worry about him."

"Wasn't worried about him, just regretting I didn't kick his butt," Peter joked. 

Tony ruffled his hair, "That's my boy."

Caine ran up the stairs, putting in the code for the door and tapping into coms, "I need any available units to escort me to the escape shuttle on level 1."

_"Copy that sir. Headed your way. Northeast platform A."_

"You better be there," he hissed, "or I will personally put a bullet in each of your brains." He hurried up the stairs and ran down the hallway, turning to the panel at the door and putting in his code. 

The door opened and 2 helmeted guards stood there, guns firm against their sides. He gave them a look and motioned them forward, handing off the needle with Peter's blood. 

"Make sure that stays safe. We're-" He looked up and froze. Captain America stepped in at the end of the hallway, shield gleaming. Bucky, Rhodey, Wanda, and Vision flanked him. But where were the others? He didn't have time to worry about that now. 

Caine backed up behind the 2 guards who raised their guns. He smiled, "Steve Rogers, what a surprise."

"Yeah, I'm a fan of surprises," Cap snarled. 

Suddenly one of the guards elbowed him in the stomach and threw him to the wall. Caine hit the stone hard with a groan, barely able to get his bearings as he was kicked across the face. The other leveled a gun at him. His arms were wrestled behind him and he was dropped to his knees, his wrists twisted in an unnatural position that made him arch his back. 

Caine thrashed, shouting, "How dare-"

The guard in front of him pulled off his helmet and Caine's snarl fell. He grinned, "Mr. Wilson. So that makes you-" He's suddenly hit the back of the head long enough for Natasha to rip off the helmet and regain her hold on him, pressing her knee into her back as she seethed, "Romanoff."

"I hate him already," Clint said, limping in with the help of Rhodey. The team circled around their enemy.

"Mr. Barton, why were you hiding?" Caine asked, cocking his head at Hawkeye who had come through the same hallway as Cap. 

"Dramatic effect, I had a feeling my limp would have ruined it a tiny bit," he shot back, notching an arrow. 

"Tony's got the kid, they're ok," Cap relayed. Caine winced at that. Everything he had worked for...down the drain. Cap walked up to him, fuming as he towered over him in anger. 

"You gonna kill me Rogers?" Caine taunted, spitting at his feet. "I'm not afraid of dying. HYDRA never truly dies." 

"I should kill you," Steve nodded. "But I'll leave that up to Tony and Peter. And HYDRA is dead. You've lost."

"You're lucky. It's a wonder Peter is still alive-" Caine mumbled. 

Wanda surged forward, red magic wrapping around him like fire. She squeezed her fist and he cried out in pain. Wanda was trembling and she hook her head with anger, snarling, "I saw what you were going to do."

Vision put his hand on her arm. Caine laughed, pain racking his body. He gasped out, "What I _did_. It's gonna take him a while to recover from that one."

"Someone shoot him," Bucky snarled. 

"How about the foot?" Vision suggested. 

"I'm good with the foot," Sam nodded, aiming and firing. 

Caine yelled in pain before he choked on his own laughter, "You care that much about that kid?"

"He's got two feet guys," Clint pointed out. "We could always-"

"Good idea," Sam shot again.

Bucky groaned sarcastically, "Now I have to carry him. Before he could maybe hop-"

"Shut up, he deserved it," Sam said firmly.

"You could have shot him in the arm," Natasha pointed out, twisting his wrists harder and digging her knee into his spine. "You still could shoot him in the arm."

Everyone quieted as Steve crouched in front of Caine. Cap looked up with murder in his cold stare, "You even _think_ about touching Peter again and I will shove my shield down your throat, do you understand me?"

"There's something about a man in uniform," Caine spit. 

Steve swung the shield in less than a second, hitting him in the head. Natasha let go of his arms as he slumped to the floor. 

"You okay?" Tony asked.

Peter nodded before his expression faltered and he choked, "Oh God-" his head whipped around. "Miles!"

He scrambled to his feet, trying to stumble forward and Tony grabbed his shoulder, "Hey, hey, I gotcha." He slipped his arm around Peter, helping him stagger towards his friend who was barely breathing on the floor in a pool of blood.

Tony lowered Peter to his side, kneeling as well.

"Miles?" Peter said quietly.

Miles smiled at him, coughing up blood, "Hey Pete- long time- no see..."

"I'm sorry," Peter sobbed. "I'm so sorry- this was all my fault-"

Miles shook his head as best he could, "It's not- it's not you. This wasn't you. This was him. That last shot man," Miles laughed and it turned into a cry of pain, "he didn't miss."

"No, he didn't," Peter said sadly, looking down and moving his hands forward to press on the wound but Miles put his arm up to block him.

He shook his head. "Pete, it's ok," Miles said weakly. His gaze said it clearly. _I'm not gonna make it._

Peter pursed his lips, "It's not. You did it all for me. They used you and I should have seen that-"

"I was brainwashed Pete, I don't even know what I said-" Miles wheezed, before his gaze fell to Tony's hand. "I kind of remember doing that. Sorry Mr. Stark."

"Don't worry about it kid," Tony assured him gently. "Thank you," he said. Miles nodded. Tony put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I'll be at the door, ok?"

Peter nodded as Tony limped away and he clasped Miles' hand. His friend coughed, "They said they would kill you if I didn't help them." Peter snarled in anger and Miles cracked a smile, "Don't go red on me."

"I'm not," Peter let out a small laugh.

"Of course I did what they asked. I thought I was saving you, I'm sorry Pete. And then they never let me go, they brainwashed me every single day to the point where i didn't remember waking up each morning-" Miles choked, spitting out blood. He dug his head into the ground and he winced. "Whatever I did to you, I'm so sorry Pete, I'm so so sorry-"

"You didn't do anything," Peter shook his head. 

Miles raised an eyebrow, "What, those bruises magically appear?"

"100%," Peter smirked. "Now me on the other hand, I kicked the crap out of you-"

"I deserved it." Miles tried to grin and it turned into a wince of pain, his head falling to the side before he snapped awake again. "You got Caine?"

Peter nodded, remembering what Tony had said. "Yeah," he said brokenly. Caine was Peter's Hersh to Miles. He knew the relief of knowing that your torturer was dead.

"Thank you for not...I couldn't watch that-" Miles choked, a tear trickling down his cheek from a swollen eye. 

Peter looked down and cursed, "What, now I'm supposed to watch you die instead?"

"You drew the short straw," Miles winked. 

"Screw you," Peter sobbed, gripping his hand. 

"You- you have a life Pete?" Miles said weakly, gulping down blood. More red soaked his shirt and Peter felt tears in his eyes as he nodded. 

"Yeah," he said quietly with a small smile. "An apartment in New York, with my aunt. I'm Spiderman...I- I save people."

Miles looked him over and attempted a whistle that turned into a exhale of pain that Miles tried to cover up, "You look the part. Think you could make me a suit?"

Peter laughed through his tears and nodded. "Yeah."

"You go to school?" Miles asked, his eyes filled with pain. 

"All A's," Peter nodded. 

"What's it like?" Miles asked quietly, his voice hopeful. 

Peter bit his lip. "Massive. It's huge. There's all these science rooms. A few bullies. A gym, a library. Our colors are blue and yellow. It's Midtown High in Queens. You'd love it. And I met a guy named Ned and a girl named MJ-"

"She cute?" Miles grinned. 

Peter choked down a laugh, "Yeah- yeah, And really really smart. And funny. I- I like her actually."

Miles smiled in pride, "I'm proud of you. You got out. You did it. Do it for both of us ok, you’re gonna get out of here Peter and you need to stay out-"

Peter shook his head and blinked, "No, no, you're gonna have the life too. Ned's gonna love you. And maybe- maybe MJ has a friend, you know? You'll get all A's-"

"You were always the smart one Pete," Miles murmured. 

"Stay with me buddy," Peter urged. "We'll walk to school together and you don't have to look over your shoulder. Tony will let you come to the Avengers compound, we have a spare room, I'm sure May won't mind. And there's this place on the corner which has the best sandwiches, called Delmar's?" Peter said excitedly, "And he gives me free gummy worms because apparently not knowing what they were is a crime. We'll stop crime and-" Peter looked down at the hand that had fallen to the ground out of his grip. "Miles?"

Peter was shaking and he stared in shock at his friend. His hands hovered over his wound before they moved to his neck to find a nonexistent pulse. His eyes were open but he wasn't moving.

Peter's voice trembled, "M-Miles?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *wipes tears* hey authors can get sad too don't judge me. :( ok but i will apologize for one thing and its when I tried to make it seem like peter got shot? I just had to. I was like ohhh that would be good to write so sorry for that scare, unless it didn't work. then nvm XD  
> How was that? <3 Ngl writing that was crazy. I went full tilt and I hope you guys liked it. What you were expecting? Intense? Sad? I love all yall thank you so much for reading, please tell me what you thought, leave a comment or kudos they mean the world, and yell at me too it makes my day haha  
> Stay tuned for next chapter! Quick question that makes me sad: how many more do you guys want to see? Cuz after the next one/two i will be wrapping up :( So let me know.  
> Angst should be done though. Get ready for happinesssss! AND HUMOR! AND AVENGERS FAM! IKR whats happiness and comedy you ask???? Well stay tuned lol- happiness after a few talks anyway lol  
> I'll do a time jump to finish it all off. (possibly Tony Pepper wedding?? And/or Peter gradutation??? Mine as well!)  
> Thank you so much for reading im gonna go collapse and sleep now lol I am physically and mentally exhausted XD  
> I love you all 3000


	25. Whatever Normal Is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am in a GREAT mood today! Hello lovely readers! I hope you all are doing ok during this crazy weird stressful hectic time in the world. Stay healthy and stay safe <3 i love all of you.  
> Sorry this chapter was a little late, but I hope it's worth it. I'm goin FULL fluff with a few reminders of angst. But like mostly FULL ON FLUFF to hopefully make your days happier <3 that's my goal! A couple of you asked for an alternate ending to what happened with Caine, Miles, and Peter, and I was a lil shy about the idea at first but I decided imma do it. so instead of adding a chapter at the end, I found a rly rly cool way to incorporate it thats also really sweet and a milestone for peter so i hope you guys like that add in.  
> Thank you so much for all your support, the last couple chapters have been received rly well and I appreciate all the comments and kudos they mean the world :) Also 13k hits?!?! AHHHH that is awesome.  
> So enjoy todays chapter<3 You all are amazing, stay healthy and enjoy!

Peter bent his head down over Miles' chest, his hands shaking as he tried to stop the tears.

"I should have saved you Miles," he said quietly, squeezing his best friend's hand.

"You deserved better," he whispered. Peter straightened, shuddering as he blinked tears out of his eyes. He couldn't wipe them with his bloodied hands. He pressed his palms against his thighs and took a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut. After a minute, Peter exhaled and composed himself, clutching his side with one hand as he weakly got to his feet. Peter staggered, gritting his teeth before he locked his knees, setting his jaw.

Peter tore his blurred gaze away from Miles and started limping forward towards the door which was opened slightly.

He heard Steve's voice, "That was good thinking Stark. A move out of Maria Hill's book, Nat and I knew what you meant."

"That's why I'm the genius and you're not," Tony laughed.

"I just didn't think you listened to that story," Steve exclaimed, "I told you that a party at the tower-"

"Hey I listen to you Rogers," Tony interrupted, "when I want to."

Peter would have smiled if it was possible. But right now he couldn't even fake one. Peter gripped the side of the door and numbly walked out, looking up. Tony was, as he promised, a foot away, talking with Cap. Steve saw him first, his eyes widening as he pushed forward and grabbed Peter's shoulders with a firm gentleness.

"You good Pete?" Steve asked urgently.

Peter clasped his arm and nodded, "Y-yeah. I'm good."

Steve gave him a smile and tightened his hand on Peter's shoulder, visibly relieved. "Good. Good."

Tony stepped up and Peter looked at him numbly, pain evident in his gaze. At the sight of the harrowing look in Peter's eyes, Tony's brow knit and his eyes flicked over his shoulder to the door. He swallowed and asked quietly, "Miles?"

Peter dug his nails into his palm and shook his head. 

"I'm so sorry kid," Tony said softly. 

"Tony, they're here," Steve said suddenly, putting a hand to his ear as he turned around. Peter followed his gaze and saw Rhodey, Wanda, and Vision step out at the end of the hall. Sam was helping Clint forward with his arm slung around his friend's shoulder. 

"Clint ok?" Peter asked quietly with concern.

"Yeah, he'll be good," Steve nodded. 

Then Peter's eyes found his enemy. Caine was being dragged down the hallway by Natasha and Bucky, limp in between them. A rage filled Peter, and so did a rising fear. He instinctively stepped closer to Tony without even realizing, who stepped in front of him protectively, murder on his gaze.

"What are you going to do with him?" Peter asked softly when they got close enough. 

"Up to you kid," Natasha said, happily kicking Caine in the back of the leg to drop him to his knees. 

"I shot him in the foot," Sam said helpfully.

"Both feet," Clint corrects. 

"Both feet," Sam repeats, nodding. 

Peter stared at the man who was just coming around. Caine lifted his head and immediately locked eyes with Peter, his lips twisting into a cruel grin and he coughed, "Look at you. You're still alive?"

"Surprise," he responded simply. Peter didn't take his gaze off of Caine who licked blood off his lip and cocked his head. 

"Change of heart Pete?" he slurred happily, "Are you going to spare the man that broke you?"

"It's Peter," he corrected instantly, before he snarled, "and you didn't break me."

"Well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. By the way, how is Miles?" Caine asked innocently. 

"You son of a-" Tony swore.

Peter physically choked as he faltered, his face contorting into that of anger and pain. He still refused to take the bait and stood his ground, glaring with fury and hate.

"See, I can still hurt you Peter," Caine smiled. 

"That's it-" Tony surged forward furiously, grabbing Caine by the throat and Natasha and Bucky let go of Caine's arms. Caine stumbled back, clutching the hand around his throat as Tony snarled and shoved him against the wall.

"Stark," Caine laughed, "getting your hands dirty, are we?"

Tony clenched his throat harder and hissed, his eyes flashing, "I promised I would kill you, I should hold fast to that, what do you think?"

"You won't always be able to protect him," Caine coughed out in glee. 

"I will. If that's the last thing I do, I will," Tony spat venomously. "You aren't getting Peter. I will rip you apart, I swear to God- you won't get near him-"

"Tony," Peter said quietly, putting a hand on his arm. 

Tony's gaze was fierce but he let Caine drop, backing away as he shook with anger. Caine crumpled on the ground against the wall, rubbing his throat and gasping.

Peter stared at the man, everyone's eyes boring into his back before he suddenly turned around and walked back into the room. Striding past Miles' body and curling his fists as he bit back tears, he grabbed the gun from the ground and scooped the bullet into his hand.

"This is for us buddy," he said with a weak smile before he set his gaze. Storming back, he strides forward, leveling the gun at Caine's head. 

"Are you gonna kill me?" Caine grinned. Peter snarled, his finger tightening around the gun, his hand shaking, his eyes stinging.

"Do it, Pete," Caine urged, grabbing Peter's wrist, and pulling him forward so that the gun was pressed against his own head. 

"Don't touch him-" Tony started forward but Peter relaxed his shoulders, looking down at his enemy. 

"Kill me," Caine urged with a smile. 

"You said the bullet was meant for one person," Peter reminded him, curling his finger around the trigger. "You were right," he hissed.

He tightened his finger and Caine squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his wrist, bracing.

_CLICK_

Peter lowered the gun and opened his other hand, revealing the bullet, rubbing his finger over it, "I think I'll keep it," he said calmly, smiling falsely. "A little memento." He stepped up to Caine and snarled, "HYDRA is dead. You can't hurt anyone anymore." He effortlessly twisted his wrist out of Caine's grasp and took a step backwards, enjoying the look of shock on the man's face.

"You failed," he said happily. "You failed after all these years. It all lead up to this moment and you missed the mark. I can't imagine what that must feel like. And one more thing-" Peter lashed his fist out, punching him in the face, breaking his nose and possibly his jaw. Caine spit out blood, groaning in pain and Peter smirked, fire in his gaze.

"That was for Miles."

Peter let the gun drop and clenched his fist around the bullet, turning around and facing Tony who was still glaring over his shoulder.

"I still want to kill him," Tony snarled, only stepping back when Peter was behind him.

Peter shrugged, refusing to look over his shoulder at the man who was being wrestled into cuffs, "He wants to die. So, no, don't give him that luxury."

"Ok, so where do we put him?" Tony asked through his teeth, crossing his arms.

"I'm thinking the Raft," Steve says, gripping his shield at his side.

Natasha stuck her head in their small circle, "Fury pulled some strings, they took down the SHIELD members loyal to HYDRA. The president got involved, Vision's got the whole thing. So far, we're good and that means the Raft should be under Fury's control. I'm sure they can gladly find Caine a cell."

"And he won't be able to get out?" Peter asked slowly. 

"No," Steve assured him firmly. 

"And if he does I will tear him limb from limb," Tony shrugged and Peter knew he wasn't kidding. 

"I hate to break up the engaging discussion," Sam calls with a slight smile, "but I for one, would like to get out of here and never come back."

"I am also okay with that," Peter smiled. Tony put Peter's arm around his shoulder, ignoring his protesting before he helped him limp out. 

**6 Hours Later**

Peter hadn't talked much. He didn't speak as they walked out and he didn't speak on the jet, except when he called May to tell her he was coming home from the conference. 

"Are you gonna tell her?" Tony nudged him. 

Peter shook his head and licked his lips. "I haven't decided yet honestly. I- I don't know."

Tony nodded, rubbing Peter's good shoulder. They stayed quiet for the rest of the flight. The Avengers were in a good mood, considering what they had just done. HYDRA was gone. Finished. For good. It was an odd feeling, and Tony knew he didn't understand half of what Peter was going through. 

He patted the kid's knee and went over to Rhodey who clasped his hand. 

"Kid ok?" Rhodey asked, looking over Tony's shoulder. 

"Hurt, confused, tired...but he'll pull through. He always does," Tony gave a weak smile. "I just want to know what happened in there."

Rhodey crossed his arms and leaned against the jet, "Well, if there's one person he'll tell, it's you Tony. Give him time."

Tony gave him a weak smile, "Thanks. And thank you for other things too. Figured I'd get all the sappiness out now."

Rhodey smirked and nodded, "I have your back."

"Even when I don't have yours," Tony said apologetically. Rhodey knew what he meant and he nodded.

"Dude, you were stressed about finding the kid," Rhodey said. "You looked for someone to blame and you found the right person. I was the last one with him."

"It wasn't your fault," Tony said firmly. "And it's not just me saying that. Peter told me that the minute I walked in. I was out of line. He said you did everything you could."

Rhodey glanced at the teen who had a hand pressed to his side, staring out the window, his fists clenched, his legs tight to his chest. "He's a good kid."

"Yeah," Tony said with a small smile, "Yeah he is."

"Almost home guys!" Nat called from the cockpit.

"Thank you Tony," Rhodey said before he locked eyes with him pointedly. "And I know you're focusing on everybody else, but give yourself a break too, okay?"

"Ok Mr. Therapist. I see a butterfly," Tony grumbled.

"I'm serious," Rhodey urged. "HYDRA's gone. That's at least an hour of sleep added to the thirty minutes you get a night."

"You know, you're right," Tony said thoughtfully. "I'm gonna lay my head on your shoulder now, we can laugh, cry, break out the tea and tissues-"

"You're impossible," Rhodey laughed. 

Tony grinned, hitting him on the shoulder. "That's why we're friends."

"Yeah, what did I do to deserve this?" Rhodey grumbled.

"Massive house, top secret clearance, killer suit, all you can eat, money at your disposal, spot on the Avengers," Tony shrugged. "I treat you so bad." 

Steve caught his arm, "Hey, we need to figure all this out. SHIELD, HYDRA, clean up. That base is still on fire where we left it, teams are headed there now."

"And that's our problem, why?" Tony asked.

"That's not. But Fury set up a meeting for us to fill in the members of the Board that were not involved with HYDRA."

"You trust them?" Tony asked.

Steve winced and then said slowly, "I trust Fury."

"Fair enough," Tony said crossing his arms.

"Some new people are taking over now. They want to discuss what will be done with Caine and get a recap like normal. I say we do this now rather than later. I know we're all tired but-"

"I won't get sleep until this is all sealed," Tony admitted. 

"Neither will I. And neither will the team. So...what, an hour after we get back to get changed and stitched up? Conference Room C?" Steve suggested. 

"Yeah," Tony rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, we'll go with that. I'll get FRIDAY to set it up."

Steve nodded and clapped him on the shoulder before walking to the cockpit and Tony walked over to Peter as the ship shuddered, landing gear coming out. He saw Peter flinch and curl his fists and Tony he sat beside him.

"Flying still not fun?" he asked, nudging Peter gently so he didn't hurt him.

Peter gave him a rough smile, "I'll get used to it."

"Do you want to talk about-" Tony asked slowly. 

"No," Peter cut him off firmly, his eyes flashing. 

Tony nodded, "Ok."

The ship landed and Peter perked up as the ramp lowered. He shot to his feet, swaying a bit, a hand clasped to his side as he grabbed the wall for support. 

Tony quickly slipped an arm under him and scoffed, "Ok tough guy. Let me help?" Peter looked at him and nodded, locking his arm around him and squeezing Tony's shoulder in pain. Tony gave him a smile smile, " Med bay, okay?"

Peter nodded, gritting his teeth and he lead him down the ramp slowly. It took a lot to get him inside, it was a long walk from the tarmac. Peter was exhausted by the time they reached the doors. Tony pursed his lips, "Kid there's no way you can make those steps."

Peter gulped and nodded, groaning, "Elevator."

"You sure?" Tony asked, not that they had much choice. 

Peter nodded weakly and Tony pushed the button, tightening his grip on the kid. He knew it would be harder now, that Peter had almost been forced back into his old life. The doors dinged and Peter's hand tightened on his shoulder. 

"Hey, eyes on me, ok? Whatever you see, isn't real. You understand?"

"Yea- yeah," Peter stuttered, letting Tony help him limp inside as the doors opened. They turned around and Peter leaned back against the rail, his gaze flicking around. The doors shut and Peter took an audible deep and shaky breath. 

"Wish we had elevator music," Tony commented.

"Shut up," Peter scoffed, his hand still tight on Tony's shoulder. The elevator started moving and Peter's face screwed up into that of pain. He was shaking and Tony looked over nervously.

"Pete? Pete-" The teen wasn't doing too well. Suddenly the kid's hand released and he would have collapsed if Tony hadn't been holding him up. "Peter, hey, look at me," he said firmly, twisting so he could lock gazes with him, propping him up against the wall. Peter grabbed his arms and stared at him, his eyes wide and filled with pain and bad memories. 

Tony smiled, "They can't hurt you anymore. Not while I'm here. Not ever again. You hear me?"

Peter nodded, locking his knees and straightening. 

"Focus on me Peter, and listen to me. You are never, going back there, and they can never get you again. HYDRA is dead for good this time. Ok?"

"Ok," Peter stuttered. "Ok."

"And look we're already here," Tony lied. 

Peter looked at the numbers lit up on the side of the elevator and said, "No we're not."

"Why'd you have to look?" Tony sighed. 

"Because you said we were here," Peter pointed out. 

"You didn't trust me?" Tony asked, mock offended. 

Peter smirked, "Not when you were clearly lying."

"Hey, I'm a good liar," Tony said angrily. 

Peter cocked his head, "You blink right before you lie and then your lip curls."

Tony recoiled, "No I don't- no it doesn't- hey!"

"Yeah you do," Peter laughed. "It's like a smirk. It's subtle though, I don't think anyone has picked up on it yet."

"Well now we're here," Tony said firmly. 

"That's a truth," Peter confirmed. The doors opened and Peter looked at Tony in shock. "You were distracting me."

"No," Tony said, and he smirked. 

Peter let out a small laugh. "That was a-"

"Whatever Pete," Tony said, slipping Peter's arm over his shoulder again as they walked out and down the hall. Tony flicked the lights on in the lab and Peter limped over to a table.

"Just like old times," Peter groaned as he pushed himself up, wincing with every movement. 

"Yeah well this better not happen again," Tony said with a glance towards him. 

Peter took off the suit and slipped off the nanotech bracelet with a wince, "Suit's busted. I gotta fix it."

"Later," Tony said automatically. 

"No Sherlock, right now," Peter said sarcastically. 

"What's funny is you haven't even seen that movie, just heard me use the expression," Tony said with a smile before he turned around. The smile died the minute he saw how badly Peter was injured. 

Peter didn't hide his wince. He didn't try and make excuses. He didn't try and cover it up or say it was okay, or that it didn't hurt. All he said was, "I know."

"I'm gonna go kill Caine," Tony swore. 

Peter looked down as Tony neared him. "Why do you trust me?" Peter spoke quietly.

Tony stopped short and his head snapped up in shock, "Excuse me?"

Peter made eye contact with him and he shook his head, "After everything I've done-"

"After everything you've done?" Tony repeated blankly. 

"I almost killed Miles in there. We fought and after a while I got the upper hand and beat him so bad he couldn't breathe and there was blood on my hands- I punched so hard I broke the suit Tony- and I couldn't stop because he was still breathing and deep down that was a failure. Like he wasn't supposed to be breathing. And then Caine made me choke him and I almost-"

"But you didn't," Tony cut in, not willing to see the pain and fear in Peter's eyes. 

"But I almost-" Peter shook his head, continuing to stutter, his eyes wide. 

"Peter, listen to me," Tony said firmly. "It wasn't you."

"How do you know that?" Peter demanded. 

"Because I know you kid!" Tony yelled. "Peter, I was the first one to tell you your name for God sakes. You have a crush on your friend MJ, your best friend is Ned, you are the smartest kid I know, a genius, who is going to have a bright future. You still get bullied by a highschooler because you refuse to throw a punch back."

Peter gulped, "I never told you about MJ."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, exactly my point. And that's not all. You hate butter on your popcorn but you feel like you shouldn't say that. You put on a suit and mask and swing around in a red and blue onesie and save people's lives every day. You don't want to tell May about your powers because you're worried about her and don't want her to be in danger. You are obsessed with movies, especially Star Wars. Do you need me to go on?" Tony asked. 

Peter was just staring at him so Tony continued. "You saved my life, you know that right? That's why I trust you. Because contrary to the small part of you still somehow thinks differently, you are not them. You are not what they made you. You are a goodhearted, perfect kid."

Peter screwed up his face and shook his head and rage boiled in Tony's chest. He pointed, "When Miles told you rip out of those cuffs, and you saw red, you still saved me. You could have gotten out and just started fighting, you could have let him kill me, but you didn't. Why was that?" Tony asked. "Because if you were a killer you wouldn't have thought twice about letting me die. And then," Tony lowered his voice, "you told me you were sorry. And when you had that gun in that room, you _listened_ to me. You listened Peter. That's why I trust you. Because I'm not afraid of you. I know you. And I wasn't lying," Tony said firmly. "I would do anything for you."

"I would too," Peter said softly, tears in his eyes. "I'm just- scared. I can't lose you. I lost my parents, I lost Ben, I lost Miles- _twice_ \- I lost myself- and I- I can handle that, I'm ok with that...but I can't lose you. I can't."

"And you're not going to," Tony assured him. "Look at me. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not dying. Yet." He saw Peter's eyes widened and he quickly added, "Kidding. Joke. It's a joke. I'm not dying. And I'm unkillable if you haven't notice."

Peter laughed lightly. 

"Now before you bleed out on me, how about you let me stitch that cut up?" Tony says pointedly. 

"Yeah, that's a good idea. But then you stitch your hand," Peter said firmly. "Cause' last time I checked you don't have healing powers."

"Deal. Brat," Tony said affectionately. 

"I hate you," Peter said back with a smirk. "Also...Tony, what you said...did you mean-"

Tony knew what he meant. _"You are the closest thing I have to a son, Peter, you do know that, right? You're my weak spot. You are my kid. And I would do anything for you."_

He sniffed, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand. "I said what I said. I don't lie. Did you see me blink or smirk or whatever I do when I lie?" he jokes. 

"No," Peter admitted. 

"So there," Tony said dismissively, focusing on Peter's cut as he started stitching it up.

Peter nodded with a small smile on his face. "T-thanks. I think it was clear...but you're my weak spot too."

"Yeah, I know," Tony said before he looked up, "We aren't gonna have to hug it out or cry or anything, right?"

"This is why Pepper gets annoyed with you," Peter shot back. 

"Ow-" Tony laughed, "Low blow. You know," he bit his lip, "I'm thinking of proposing soon."

Peter smiled, "Really?"

"No, I'm kidding," Tony slurred sarcastically, getting hit on the arm. Good thing he didn't have the needle near Peter's stomach at that point. He looked up incredulously, "Really? Do you want me to stab you?"

"Eh, you won't be able to tell," Peter snickers, looking over himself. He's covered in blood and Tony glares at him. Peter kills his grin and says, "Not funny."

"No, not funny," Tony agrees. "So yeah, I've been thinking about it."

"She's gonna say yes," Peter scoffed. 

Tony rolled his eyes, "Duh. Who wouldn't?"

"We need to work on your ego a slight bit," Peter winced from the stitches. 

"This is not about to turn into a therapy session," Tony laughed, finishing off the stitches. "You bleeding out anywhere else?"

Peter looked himself over, "No. Well yes, but everything else should close in a couple of days. I'm gonna take a shower."

"That is a good idea," Tony agreed, Peter covered in blood and looking like he got slammed into a brick wall at least eighty times. Which he probably did. "You look like crap."

"Thanks Tony," Peter sighed.

"You do!" Tony grinned. Peter hopped off the bench and cried out, his knees buckling from the weight. He reached forward and Tony caught him instinctively, holding Peter up until he got his footing. "You good?" he asked urgently. "Daredevil."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good-" Peter said breathlessly, fisting Tony's jacket in his hands. 

"I'm walking you to your room," Tony decided, putting his arm around his shoulder. "That's final."

"You don't have to," Peter protested weakly but he didn't let go of Tony's arms. 

"I know, but if you fall somewhere, because you are clumsy, I don't care what you say, I will be pissed," Tony shrugged. 

Peter looked up at him and suddenly moved forward, wrapping his arms around his neck. Tony didn't freeze this time. Instead he ducked his head to Peter's shoulder and hugged him tightly, squeezing his shoulder and clutching the back of the teen's head. 

"Thank you," Peter said quietly, his voice muffled. 

"You don't need to thank me kid," Tony said back. "Although I will expect a card tomorrow." Peter's laugh got caught in his throat due to his tears and Tony patted his back, blinking his eyes to clear his blurred vision, "Alright underoos, let's get you upstairs."

Peter grabbed Tony's shoulder as they leaned against the wall of his room. Tony opened the door for him and Peter reached over and rubbed his arm, a signal for Tony to let go. The man obliged and Peter winced but walked on his own to the center of the room before turning around with a grin. 

"I made it five feet," he slurred sarcastically. 

"You'll be doing backflips in no time," Tony winked. "You sure you don't need me to stay?"

"I'll be good. I got enough time before I have to be downstairs for the meeting," Peter nodded. "Also you need to stitch that hand."

"Yeah whatever Parker, I'll see you down there," Tony grinned, closing the door. Peter waited for his footsteps to fade before he cut his smile. For a second Peter just stood there, fighting an internal battle. Then he finally let himself drop to his knees. His legs hit the ground hard, and Peter sat there, hand pressed against his side, his other hand curled into a fist. 

Shock rippled through him like it never had before. He sucked in a breath through lungs that burned and Peter's head sank to his chest. A tear trickled down his cheek and Peter wiped it furiously. He clenched his left fist, trying to take deep breaths despite his busted ribs. His head was exploding with pain, his ears ringing, and Peter winced, livid with himself for breaking. After everything he had been through, why break now, when he was safe, when he was home, when HYDRA was gone. 

Peter stared at the ceiling. He hated himself. He hated how after everything he had been through, everything HYDRA had done to him, everything he had overcome, he was now back where he started. A shaking, scared, _scarred_ sixteen year old kid who couldn't even take a deep breath. Peter couldn't open his eyes in fear he would see red and he pressed his clenched fists to his head, trying to compose himself.

Then Peter's phone rang on the desk and his head snapped up, immediately frightened of the possible outcome of his vision. But all he saw were white spots- no red, and Peter took comfort in that, he took comfort in the splitting headache that was making him sway off balance. 

He knew he couldn't get to his feet so he weakly shot a web, bringing the phone to his hand. 

Ned. 

Peter's shaking fingers answered the phone and he slowly brought it to his ear. "Hey," he croaked. 

_"Peter!"_ Ned shouted in joy, making him flinch at the feedback. _"Thank God! I've been calling you for the past day and a half now, you haven't been answering any of MJ or I's texts and of course I knew you were on a mission but I couldn't say that obviously, but then I started getting worried like something was wrong- what happened?"_

Peter sat in silence, holding the phone to his ear. Another beat went by and his friend pried again, _"Peter? Are you ok?"_

He deserves the truth, Peter thinks. He lowers his head and in turn lowers his voice. "We- we need to talk," Peter said firmly. "I haven't told you some things, and I- I need to."

_"What? Yeah, dude, anything. Peter, what's wrong, is this about your powers?"_

Peter felt a sad smile on his face and he looked down, "Yeah. Sort of. Look, just hear me out. This is all gonna sound...insane-"

 _"My best friend is Spiderman how much crazy could it get?"_ Ned laughs. 

"You have no idea," Peter said with a tense laugh.

_"Oh...ok."_

"I- God, how do I say this?" Peter trailed off. "I guess I'll just start at the beginning. My parents died when I was little. But they didn't just die, they were killed by a group called HYDRA. An organization that manufactures weapons and deals with black market trade, and experiments on people to further genetic enhancement."

 _"Woah,"_ Ned breathed. _"I mean not woah, but- wait so do the bad guys have a lair?"_

"Yeah," Peter said, tears stinging at his eyes. "Yeah, and that's where I was for half my life. They kidnapped me when I was little, brainwashed me to forget my past, and experimented on me. They were the ones who gave me my powers Ned. I was tortured in there for nine years before the Avengers came to the base and I escaped with them."

 _"You were tortured by psycho villains for nine years and you didn't tell me? Peter, are you ok?"_ Ned asked, concerned and in shock, which Peter guessed was better than freaked out and screaming. 

Peter let out a laugh, "I've kinda lost value in the word okay, but yeah, I am. The only reason I'm telling you this now is because it's over. We stopped HYDRA. They're dead. So you're safe now, and I just...I've kept secrets all my life. I don't want to keep anymore. But I also want you to know, I'm sorry. What happened to me, it doesn't just go away, so when I'm jumpy, or if I leave class, or if I snap at you or scare you even, just know it's not me."

Peter realized what he had just said. He had admitted it wasn't him. That only fueled him to keep talking, with more energy and confidence than before. 

He shook his head, looking around the room, the phone hot against his ear as he said, "I wanted to protect you. And I will continue to protect you, and MJ. But if you want out, I completely understand. I saw some messed up things in there, and had some messed up things done to me." 

His voice broke but Peter cleared his throat, "It's part of my past and it makes me who I am and I get that is scary, or not something you want to be apart of or - orbe around. So if- if you don't want to be friends with me, if you want me to never talk to you again and stay the hell away, I get it Ned, I get it. I just...I've lost people. Best friends. Family. So I guess this is like...a warning too? Because I can't promise you that who I am won't affect your life and I just don't want you-"

 _"Peter,"_ Ned interrupted him for the first time. 

"Yeah," Peter said breathlessly. 

_"I'm proud of you. You think I'm scared? I'm gonna be your guy in the chair, we will be unstoppable. And yeah, we all have our pasts, your is just....darker than others,"_ Ned said slowly. 

"Much darker, yeah," Peter rubbed his hair with a wince. 

_"But I don't_ care," Ned said firmly, " _It's an honor Spiderman, to have you as my best friend."_

"That was really cringey," Peter laughed. 

_"I don't care,"_ Ned responded. _"Don't ruin the moment. Are you gonna tell MJ?"_

Peter nodded to himself, "Yeah on Monday."

 _"Are you gonna tell her you like her too?"_ Ned pried. 

"Hey-" Peter laughed. He knew Ned was trying to change the subject for his sake. His friend was shaken up but didn't want Peter to know that, and it was comforting. So Peter went with it, "That's going over the line. But....maybe."

_"Have it your way, you guys have been flirting since day one. Ok, so am I your guy in the chair or what?"_

"My what?" Peter asked with a slight chuckle of confusion. 

_"You know how there’s a guy with a headset telling the other guy where to go? Like, like if you’re stuck in a burning building, I could tell you where to go. Because there’d be screens around me, and I could, you know, swivel around, and... ‘Cause I could be your guy in the chair."_

"I-" Peter pressed a hand to his head, "You know what, sure. You can be my guy in the chair."

 _"Yes!"_ Ned said happily. _"Ok, I have a few more questions for you."_

"About-" Peter knit his eyebrows. 

_"Do the Avengers pay taxes?"_ Ned asked thoughtfully. 

"Uh- yeah, they do, well I think Tony may do it for all of them? He's kind of rich," Peter rubbed his head. 

_"Kind of? Yeah he’s insanely rich. By the way, have you slipped up and called him dad yet?"_

"What?" Peter laughed. 

_"I'm just waiting for that to happen. Come on Pete, you're like a son to him, which is insane,"_ Ned exclaimed. _"Also is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?"_

"A little bit of both," Peter smirked. "Look, Ned, I'll answer all your questions tomorrow, ok? I'm kind of...bleeding right now and I need to be downstairs in a bit."

_"Right, fatal wounds over best friend. I see how it is. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. If you died while on the phone with me I'd feel really bad."_

"Ok," Peter laughed. 

_"Ok, I'll see you Monday. We need to make up a handshake,"_ Ned added. 

"Sounds good. And...Ned?" Peter said quietly. 

_"Yeah buddy?"_

"Thanks," Peter said in relief. 

_"Anytime. Bye Spiderman,"_ Ned hung up after that. 

Peter grabbed the dresser and took a deep breath, feeling a little bit of the weight off his shoulders. He tightened his grip and hauled himself up, staring into the mirror once he maintained his balance and steadied his breathing. 

"Well Parker..." he said to himself, "you are really screwed up."

He looked himself over- a black eye, shallow cuts- bruised jaw, a beat up face. He could tell his ribs were busted from the way he hunched over the dresser. 

Peter looked down with a wince and uncurled his palm. Inside lay the bullet that was unused, but still held so much pain, so much fear, so many memories. Peter rubbed it thoughtfully with his thumb before he set it down in the center of his dresser. A small smile made it's way onto his lips and he took a shaky breath, staring at it for a couple more minutes. 

HYRDA was dead, which meant a part of him died as well. But a part of him was reborn at the same time. Peter held onto that spark like it was made of gold, he cherished the feeling that he didn't need to look over his shoulder. That didn't mean that he no longer would; Peter couldn't forget his past. But he knew he was alive for a reason. He looked at the mask on his desk from the original suit and he smiled. That's what he was meant to do. This was who he was meant to be. And for one simple second, Peter could maintain the smile on his face and rub the mask between his fingers. For one simple second, Peter was proud of who he was. 

It was only a second. 

But it was a start.

Tony went to Pepper's office but she wasn't there. FRIDAY's voice rang out, "Mrs. Potts will be back in a couple hours, sir. She's at a conference."

Tony tried to hide his disappointment, "Alright, thanks FRIDAY." He made his way down the hall to the conference room and pushed open the door. Most of the team was already there, including Clint who had a bandage wrapped over his side. 

"Hey hop a long. What is with you and getting hit in the side?" Tony clapped him on the arm. 

"Bad luck I guess," Clint shrugs. 

"Remind me to make you some sort of armor, I'm getting tired of you bleeding all over the floor," Tony jokes. "So what did doc say?"

Clint shrugged, "Cho's gonna fix me up again, same skin regeneration thing. Worked the first time, so it should work the second."

"You sure you're gonna be ok?" Natasha smirked, kicking her feet up on the table. "Pretending we need you really brings the team together."

"Yeah, yeah, I told you, I'm gonna live forever," Clint laughed.

Tony grinned, "Uh oh, I think he's flat lining. Call it! Time?"

Clint got the football from Sam and chucked it at Tony who caught it laughing.

"Why is Clint dying?" Steve asked, walking and in and taking his place next to Tony. 

"Do you just butt into conversations now Rogers?" Tony joked. Steve grinned and hit him on the shoulder, as Tony threw the football. It clattered across the table as Sam lunged, Bucky kicking his chair as he did, sending him tumbling to the floor. 

Wanda picked up the football and tossed it to Nat who was laughing as Sam rose with curses pointed at Bucky. 

"Who are we calling?" Tony asked with a smile on his face. It had been a while since he had seen his team this happy. It was still sinking in. HYDRA. Gone. For good this time. No tricks, no secrets. The thing they had been fighting was finally gone, and a weight was lifted off of all of their shoulders. There was still plenty more pressure but in that moment, today....it didn't matter. 

"Newest director. Jeffery Mace. He's better than Ross," Steve admits. 

"Everyone was better than Ross," Tony points out, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, conscious of his bad hand that brushed his forearm, making him wince. "That's a low standard."

Steve snickered. Then Wanda spoke up, "How's the kid Tony?"

Everyone quieted with concern. Tony looked up to answer when suddenly the door opened and Peter walked in. Tony motioned his head towards the teen, "I don't know, Pete, how ya doing?"

Peter had new clothes on that weren't covered in blood, but the damage was done. His lip was busted and he had a black eye. There were a couple shallow cuts on his face and a nasty bruise on his jaw, but Tony knew the serious wounds were covered up by the long sleeve shirt and jeans the kid had put on. Peter grinned sheepishly as everyone greeted him and he shrugged, "I'm alive. So...that's a plus." He looped the table, getting in a few hugs or handshakes before taking a seat next to Tony. 

"You stitch your hand?" Peter asked him, scooting in closer to the table. 

"I- I wrapped it, which is kind of the same thing," Tony said, holding his hand covered in white gauze. 

"Except it's kind of not," Peter grumbled. 

"Ok, I want to get this over with and I know you all do too," Steve said, pushing the button on the remote. The pull down screen descends in front of the table and the ceiling opens up to lower the projector. Peter doesn't flinch this time and Tony smiles at that.

"Nice faces, it's a new kid at school," Tony adds helpfully.

"Just a standard check. We're telling him everything that happened and talking about the future of SHIELD," Steve said firmly.

Tony pulls up a keypad and swipes right. On the TV the 'ANSWER' button his pushed and a man appears in the middle, leaning against Ross' desk and not kicking his feet up on it in a cocky fashion like the old man used to. "I like you already," Tony speaks up. 

The man smiles, _"Tony Stark. Nice to officially meet you, even though it's just through a screen. That goes for all of you. It's an honor."_

"Likewise," Steve says firmly. "I'm sorry it had to be under these unfortunate circumstances."

Mace nodded, _"I'm honestly embarrassed for my late directors and his board. But when Fury called me, I was glad there was something left of SHIELD for me to help out with."_

"So there is, something left? Enough to save?" Rhodey asked. 

_"Yes. SHIELD is still very much alive,"_ Jeffery said. 

"What about HYDRA?" Peter spoke up. 

Jeffery's gaze snapped to him and he nodded, "Mr. Parker?" Peter nodded. The man's expression softened and he gave him a solid nod back, "Can I just say...I have a son. Sixteen. I cannot begin to imagine what you went through. But yes, HYDRA is gone. We've made sure of and will continue to make sure of that. And it's about time if I do say so myself."

Tony looked over at Peter who had a gaze on his face that he had never seen. He stared at the kid until he realized it was relief. The fact that he had never seen it made his heart ache, but he was overjoyed to see it now. The entire team noticed too and they all looked at Peter who was speechless, like he was realizing it for the first time like the rest of them.

A smile tugged at Peter's lips as he nodded firmly and spoke firmly.

"Thank you."

**Two Days Later**

Peter was excited to go back to school the next day, but he was going to miss the Avengers, even though he knew he would see them the next day. Spending the past two days with them, and talking about the events in Germany was something that helped him inch towards normal. Whatever normal was. It was getting easier for him to talk to them, and it was getting easier for him to sleep easier about the whole thing. Although when he meant sleep easy he meant 5 hours a night instead of 3. The nightmares hadn't stopped, and neither had the panic attacks, but he could hide them easier and deal with them.

There was an atmosphere none of them had witnessed that was throughout the entire compound. A victory that had a tremendous impact had changed their personalities and outlooks, for as long as they let it. They knew the feeling of constant triumph, of sincere smiles would eventually pass, but until it did, they refused to let it go.

Getting up from the table, Tony looked at his watch. It was twelve, the time where they would usually all go get lunch. He shrugged, "I'm not hungry. Is anyone else?"

"Clint's hungry," Natasha joked. 

"She's right. I'm always hungry," Clint grinned. 

"Football time," Tony grinned, putting his arm around Peter. "We haven't had a game with the kid before. If you're up for it."

Peter grinned, "It's on, old man."

"Old man," Tony scoffed. "You just lost the right to be on my team."

"He was never gonna be on your team," Natasha winked.

Steve smiled at Tony, "We get Queens."

"Fair enough, but don't expect me to go easy on you Parker," Tony pointed at him. 

"I'll leave you in the dust even with my stab wound," Peter called back. 

Tony turned around with a frown, "Yeah that’s not ok. Maybe you should sit out for this one kid."

"Oh shut up, you just don't want to lose," Peter sneered, but he shot Tony a reassuring look. "It's mostly healed anyway." Most of his wounds were at this point. His bruise on his jaw was practically gone, just a slight shade of green, which he knew made Tony made because it nodded to the severity of the hit. His black eye was gone and the cuts on his face were healed. His side was the only thing that still made him wince every once in a while. Ribs were mostly healed as well. Mentally....Peter was still screwed up, but he knew he couldn't fix that within a couple of days, or fix it at all for that matter. 

But at this moment in time, Peter didn't care. 

The rest of the Avengers divided up teams as they walked down the hall to the courtyard outside. Rhodey, Wanda, Sam, and Bucky went to Tony's side. Vision, Clint joined Peter, Steve, and Natasha. 

"Powers are allowed," Wanda spoke up. 

"Duh, normal football is boring," Clint grinned. A ball was shoved into his chest. 

"You're QB," Nat said firmly. 

Clint groaned, "Why the heck do I always have to be quarterback?"

"Because you're the best shot. And you can't exactly be a running back because you can't run."

"This is true," Clint sighed. 

"Wait, but Viz can't do that walk through walls thing. I still have busted ribs from when I tackled air," Sam groaned. 

"Fair enough," Vision laughed and Sam went to clap him on the back before his hand went through him. 

"Not funny," Sam said with a grin. 

"Wait, so we can use our powers?" Peter asked Tony who had a suit wrap around his body.

His helmet receded to his neck and he nodded. "You go easy, you hear me?" Tony said firmly. 

"And let you guys win? No way," Peter smirked and then walked towards Steve and Natasha who had started a huddle. Cap cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "Go over the rules."

Tony gave him a thumbs up and Steve turned to Peter, "Flag football and capture the flag? You know how to play, yea? It's that but with some things in our favor. You get to the endzone by passing the ball between all of us, you can go backwards, forwards, wherever you want within the boundaries." He pointed them out to Peter and explained where the end zones were. "If they get the ball we restart and set up a play again, and the play is dead when it's a hard hit or it gets stupid, got it?"

"Yeah," Peter nodded firmly. 

"Ok, so you got it," Natasha nods. 

"That's it?' Peter asked. 

"That's it," Clint grinned. "And I can throw far."

Peter grinned as they lined up across from an opponent. He took his place across from Tony with a smile. "You gonna knock me down?" Tony asked. Peter smirked and didn't answer. He twisted his foot in the ground and bent his knees. Clint smacked the ball and backed up and Peter lunged forward before cutting to the side, pushing Tony past him. Tony fired up his boosters too keep from falling as Peter sprinted forward, looking behind him as Clint fired the ball towards him. 

Out of the corner of Peter's eye he saw Sam spread his wings and try and intercept the ball and he shot a web, yanking the ball forward before he could. It hit his chest and Peter took a few steps before he yelled, "Steve! Home run!"

He tossed the ball and Cap gripped his shield and swung, smacking the ball into the air. "Good thinking Queens."

"I got it-" Bucky said but Nat was faster, jumping in front of him and catching the ball. She rolled on the ground and tossed it to Vision who swerved to avoid Wanda who spun and flicked her fingers. Vision stopped midair and the ball dropped, laying in the grass. 

"Give me your shield," Clint demanded and Cap threw it to him. Clint narrowed his eyes and swung, releasing the shield that hit the edge of the ball, sending it skidding away from Rhodey who had swooped to grab it. 

Peter scooped it up and started sprinting. He heard Tony behind him and he flipped up, letting Tony pass under him. Peter shot a web, attaching himself to Tony's foot and swinging forward from the momentum. He landed in the endzone without the ball and Tony touched down, looking at him in confusion. 

Peter suddenly grabbed his side and stumbled forward with a wince of pain. Tony immediately surged forward and caught him and Peter grabbed the ball he had stuck to his back. He pulled it off Tony's back and smiled. 

Tony dropped him and Peter hit the ground, laughing. 

"I hate you," Tony said, fighting a smile. 

"Feeling's mutual," Peter grinned. 

_"By all means, wipe out the red," Caine said happily._

_"I can't," Peter snarled firmly._

_"That's right, you can't, because this is who you are. Who you were always meant to be. That blood on your hands feels good right now. You punched so hard you broke your suit!" he noticed with a small laugh. "That red feels normal. You try and hate it, you can tell me you hate it Peter, but it's the real you. And deep down you know that. You don't hate it, no, you've accepted it."_

_"Say you're right?" Peter said weakly. "What do you want from me?"_

_"I need you to do something for me," Caine said. Peter nodded. Caine's lips twisted into a grin, "You're a killer yes?"_

_"Yes," Peter nodded without thinking._

_"Good," Caine shrugged. He walked over and reached to grab Miles' collar, pulling him to his feet. Miles yelled in pain but soon it turned into desperation. He struggled, trying to grab the hand that was dragging him forward, but Peter had beaten him up more than he had thought, and whatever was going on in his head wasn't helping._

_"No," Miles moaned. Caine brought him to his knees with a swift kick the back of his leg and he struggled, straining on the floor, forced in front of Peter._

_"Do you care about him Pete?" Caine asked simply, his grip on Miles tightening to the point where it looked painful._

_Peter locked eyes with Miles who was terrified. He then looked back up to Caine and shook his head, speaking firmly. "No."_

_Caine nodded, "Then kill him."_

_Miles twisted in his grasp crying, "Caine- that wasn't the-" then he buckled forward, squeezing his eyes shut and screaming. When he looked up he thrashed even more, crying out to the man behind him, "Let go of me psychopath-"_

_His gaze found Peter and he blinked, shaking his head as much as he could with Caine's grip on his hair. "Pete? What are you doing here? Caine- you- you told me he escaped- you told me he got out-" Miles sobbed, looking at Peter in utter horror and relief, "Peter, it's me, don't you remember? It's me, it's Miles- Peter, what-"_

_Peter walked forward calmly._

_"What are you doing?" Miles sobbed._

_"You want this all to be over Peter," Caine said firmly, tightening his grip on the squirming teenager. "Don't you?"_

_Peter nodded dumbly, stopping a foot from his old friend and looking down on him._

_"Good," Caine said firmly. "So kill him."_

_"Peter- that wasn't me- I would have never hurt you-" Miles sobbed. "They set me up-"_

_Caine tightened his grip around Miles' shirt, choking him but Peter's eyes flashed and he glared at Caine who released it allowing Miles to sob, "They told me if I stayed they would let you go- Caine you told me he escaped with the Avengers- you're not supposed to be here!" Miles screamed in fury, tears streaming down his bloody cheeks. He gulped down air, gasping, "Peter please, you have to believe me-"_

_"Is he telling the truth?" Peter asked, looking up at Caine._

_"It doesn't matter Peter," Caine snapped._

_Peter stuttered in confusion, his mind splitting. He curled his fist, shaking his head, "But if it wasn't him- he's innocent- you lied to him- he tried to save me-"_

_"Do you care?" Caine demanded. "Answer the question Peter, do you care?"_

_Did he care?_

_"No," he whispered. He reached forward and curled his hand around Miles' throat._

_Miles choked, sucking in a breath. He clawed at Peter's arm, squeezing it, begging, "Pete please- it's me- please-"_

_Block him out Peter. You have a mission. Focus on the mission._

_"It's me- Peter don't. You're better than this," he pleaded. "I don't know what I did to you- I don't know- I'm sorry- I don't know-"_

_Peter's grip tightened with a narrowing of his eyes and he set his brow. Miles choked, tears spilling out of his black and swollen eyes._

_"Pete-" Miles whispered, his eyes begged._

_"Kill him Peter! Kill him now!" Caine urged._

_Peter looked up at Caine and made up his mind. He didn't release his hand. Miles' eyes went wide and his body jerked under Peter's grip. Then he stopped struggling completely. His eyes stared, never to blink again. Peter hand was steady as he released it and when Caine let Miles go, he slumped to the floor, unmoving. Peter stared at him. It all seemed so quick. What had he just done?_

_His job._

_Peter knew he should feel something. Horror. Anger with himself. Fear of himself. But he didn't. When he looked up, Caine was smiling._

_"Good work Peter," he said quietly. "I always knew you would pull through."_

_Peter straightened and nodded before he stuttered, "But- I don't- I don't understand. Why did he have to-"_

_"Does it matter?" Caine demanded._

_Peter faltered and looked down in shame. "No," he said quietly._

_"Was he your friend?" Caine asked, stepping up to Peter who met his eyes._

_"No," Peter said._

_"Exactly," Caine said lightly. "He was expendable. But you Peter...you're important. You're going to help me save lives."_

_Peter nodded before suddenly his Spider senses flared and he looked behind him. Caine noticed and his brow furrowed. "What is it?" he asked._

_"I'm...not sure," Peter grumbled. His vision still red, he bent his knees and tensed, staring at the door. Suddenly it dented on his hinges and Peter flinched at the sound, crouching, ready to fight._

_The door then was blasted off his hinges and a man stepped in in a red and yellow suit. Peter recognized him, but he didn't know from where. He steadied himself, as the man met his eyes. They were filled with relief and love for some reason, and it made Peter uneasy. He backed up as the man started forward._

_"Pete-" he said quietly, before his gaze turned on Caine. Peter stepped back it was so fierce. The man snarled, "What did you do to him?"_

_"You're too late Tony," Caine smiled, his hand on Peter's shoulder._

_"Don't touch him," Tony seethed, stepping forward but Peter put up his arm as a warning. The man's face broke at that and he faltered._

_"Tony," Peter repeated the name, feeling it on his tongue, wishing it would spark a memory._

_"Yea, Pete, it's me," Tony urged. "Whatever he's done to you-"_

_"I saved him," Caine said, his hand tightening on Peter's arm. Peter didn't miss the wince from Tony at that touch._

_"Saved him!" Tony yelled. "You son of a-" he started forward, putting up his arm that heated up a blast._

_"Stop!" Peter yelled, firing a web that smothered the blast. Tony looked at him in shock and then straightened. Suddenly the suit peeled off, revealing the man in a long sleeve shirt and jeans, beaten and bruised, holding a hand that was dripping blood against his chest._

_"Peter, you have to listen to me," Tony started, putting out his hands._

_"You don't have to listen to him Peter. He doesn't control you. But you can listen to me," Caine urged, pulling out a gun and putting it in Peter's hand. "Shoot him."_

_Peter's hand closed around the gun as Caine pushed him forward. He looked up at the man who was staring at him, "Pete, you know me."_

_"Stop calling me Pete," Peter said weakly._

_"Why?" Tony asked. "I coined that nickname. I was the only one you let call you that. Do you not remember that?"_

_"N-no- I don't know," Peter said, raising the gun in his anger with himself. He didn't remember. But he felt like he should and that scared him. It scared him that he didn't even know himself. "Stay back."_

_"No," Tony said firmly. "You aren't gonna shoot me Pete. It's me. You know you know me, you just don't remember why. It's because that man behind you has done something and I can fix it- I can help you-"_

_"Don't listen to him Peter," Caine said with a sick smile that Peter would have seen if he turned around._

_"Eyes on me Parker," Tony said firmly. "You know me. And you've got to trust me on this one. Put the gun down."_

_"How did you know my last name?" Peter said weakly, putting his finger on the trigger._

_Tony spluttered out a torrent of words with a wave of emotion, "Because kid, I was the one who told you your name for the first time. I introduced you to your aunt and uncle for the first time."_

_"N-no, I don't remember that-" Peter cried, trying to steady his arm with the gun._

_"Pull the trigger Peter," Caine urged._

_"I am going to kill you!" Tony yelled at Caine with tears in his eyes. "I will rip you apart, I swear to God- let him go-"_

_"I'm not doing anything to him Tony," Caine said calmly._

_"You son of a-" Tony trailed off, biting his lip. "Pete, it's me. Come on kiddo. I know you. They're in your head. He's-" he stabbed his finger towards Caine. "He's in your head, you gotta fight it."_

_"Don't fight who you are Peter," Caine said firmly. "This is who you were made to be. You can't escape it. Accept it."_

_"Don't listen to him Peter-"_

_"SHUT UP!" Peter yelled, turning on both of the men. "Shut up- just shut up-" His head was spinning. His ears felt like they were bleeding. He was staggering, barely able to keep the gun level. "I-"_

_"Peter wake up."_

_Peter's head snapped up._

_Tony was looking at him with concern, "Peter, kiddo, you gotta wake up."_

_"You can't escape me Peter," Caine shrugged when Peter spun around. "You kill me, you're a killer. Although deep down you already know that, don't you?"  
_

_"I'm not-" Peter sobbed, "I'm not a killer."_

_He couldn't let go of the gun._

_"You're not a killer Peter," Tony said firmly, his voice breaking. "Wake up! Peter, please, wake up kid."_

_"Whatcha gonna do Peter?" Caine taunted. "You want to wake up, don't you? Gotta pull the trigger. Gotta be a killer. Come on kid, point and shoot," he yelled gleefully, his eyes flashing with fire. Peter stumbled back in fear._

_"Wake up Pete!" Tony yelled and Peter's gaze crumpled as his world collapsed on him, suffocating him._

_Peter squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming down his cheeks. His legs buckled beneath him and he screamed. His finger tightened on the trigger._

"PETER!"

Peter gasped, throwing his fist. It was caught easily and he didn't hear the voice before he threw another punch. 

"Aha! I caught it this t-" Tony let out a groan as Peter hit him across the face. Peter shot up, scrambling away as he felt his chest, searching for the bullet he had fired. He felt over his chest in shock, confused where there was no bullet lodged anywhere. He looked up and saw Tony on his elbows on the ground, unsure if he should approach him. 

"Hey, Pete- kid, you good?" he asked nervously. 

"I- I got...shot-" Peter gulped down, not wanting to explain what had happened. "I- oh God- I killed Miles....I almost killed you-"

"Hey," Tony said gently getting to his feet and cracking his jaw. "I mean you got a nice punch in, but I'm far from dead kid. And Miles? He died saving you. It was just a nightmare kid. I ran in when I heard you screaming." 

"I was- screaming," Peter mumbled, pressing his hands to his head, surprised to feel tears on his cheeks. He wiped them discretely and if Tony noticed, he didn't say anything. 

"You had me there for a second," Tony laughed, but it was just a cover up for concern. 

Peter blinked, the room finally stopping its dizzying spin. He rubbed his eyes and saw a Iron Man gauntlet on Tony's hand. "You brought the suit?" he asked sleepily. 

Tony shrugged it off, "You...I thought you were hurt."

"Oh," Peter said quietly. 

"I came in, you were screaming, the covers were all around your legs, you looked like you were in pain- I didn't know what to do, I hope I didn't make it worse, but I couldn't wake you up..."

"No," Peter murmured, "It could have been a whole lot worse. T-thanks."

"Yeah kid," Tony said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He smirked, rubbing his jaw, "Good punch. I caught the first one and then you just had to," Tony mimiced a swing, shaking his head. 

"Sorry," Peter winced.

Tony nudged him gently to show all was forgiven and then put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Do you want to-"

"No," Peter said quickly. "It wasn't real. It just...it could have happened, and I don't want to think about that."

"Understood," Tony nodded, and he didn't move his hand that was on his shoulder, which Peter was grateful for. It grounded him to reality, let him know that he wasn't dreaming, and that every bad thing in his life couldn't come attack him at the moment. Tony was his personal shield to the hell he had gone through.

They sat in silence for a little bit because Peter didn't want him to leave but didn't have the courage to tell him so and Tony, who knew that, didn't have the courage to offer to stay. So they both understood each other and stayed put. 

"So do you want to...cry? Put your head on my shoulder? Break out the notebook and some tissues? What's the plan," Tony grinned. 

Peter smirked, "Shut up." His shoulder relaxed at that comment like he always did whenever Tony did that. They both used humor as a coping mechanism. It may not work when it's you trying to fake something, but when he and Tony used it together, for some reason, it did the trick. 

"You've already seen the notebook I bet, so I wouldn't want to watch something you've already seen," Peter joked. 

"I did watch it," Tony said sadly. "With Pepper. It was her fault."

"Oh, that's your cover story," Peter laughed, the previous nightmare slowly fading away. It was still there, like it always was, but peter could breathe easy now that his mind was off it. 

"Shut up kid, my secret can't get out," Tony laughed. 

"What other chic flicks have you watched?" Peter raised an eyebrow. 

"None, I hate chic flicks. They're like hallmark movies. Same story. Girl falls in love with guy. Guy doesn't like girl. Or the other way around. In the end they get together, totally ignoring some tragic thing that happened around the middle, and it's always Christmas," Tony shrugs. 

Peter took his first deep breath when he added, "And there's a dog in there somewhere."

"And there's a dog in there," Tony agreed with a chuckle.

After another minute of silence, Tony patted his shoulder and got up. Peter immediately flinched at the loss of contact, his eyes widening as he tensed but Tony simply slid to sit on the floor, his back against Peter's bed. "Get some sleep kid," he said. "I'm not going anywhere." 

"Yeah, just don't steal any covers," Peter grumbled.

Tony crossed arms and let his head rest against Peter's bed, raising an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Well don't kick me in the head. With your strength you could probably knock me out."

"You're too short, I think it would just pass over your head," Peter grinned.

"Alright, that's too far. I will take your pillow," Tony snapped. 

"Take it, see if I care," Peter sniffed. Tony reached and yanked Peter's pillow from his bed, settling it under his head. Peter's jaw dropped, "I didn't think you would."

Tony opened one eye, "You do care?"

"Shut up," Peter grumbled, building up the covers by his head. 

"I'm trying to sleep Parker," Tony said innocently. 

"Yeah, so am I, but I don't have a pillow," Peter huffed. 

"I do," Tony grinned. 

Peter rolled his eyes and then said, "Thanks Tony."

"For taking your pillow?" Tony joked. "You're welcome."

"You know what I mean," Peter sighed. 

"Yeah, I do. Get some sleep kid. I'll take first watch," Tony said, closing his eyes with a smirk on his face. 

Peter almost kicked him, but decided against it. After a couple minutes though, Peter groaned, got up and slid to the floor with the blanket, putting his head on Tony's shoulder. 

Tony opened one eye and looked at him with a smirk and Peter grumbled, "You took my pillow."

"Ok," Tony said knowingly, and there was unmistakable humor in his tone.

"I can turn on the notebook you know-" Tony offered.

"I will punch you in the face again."

"Night kid," Tony said contently, moving closer so Peter's head could rest more comfortably on his shoulder. He looked over and pulled the covers over the kid, wincing as he hoped he didn't jostle him. Peter was already asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked itttttt! We get some MJ and Peter talk next chapter as well as maybe Tony and Pepper finally getting engaged :) Also Peter has an important decision to make about telling May and standing up to flash because we love those moments <3 It's all gonna wrap up happy and nice yay :) with a few scenes of action and angst AND OFC protective Tony AND Peter dont you worry  
> Thank you all so much for your support, I'd love to hear what you thought so feel free to drop a comment and let me know, or just talk. I am so done with online school already i am literally DYING. Also I'm realizing I should have killed off like everyone and then been like APRIL FOOLSSSS but i didn't. Sooooooo I have no prank for you guys. I am sorry. But seriously thank you for your support, it has been absolutely amazing- i love hearing from you guys and as we wind down (2 more chaps left :( ) I just want you guys to know that this fic has been amazing to write for you guys  
> Stay HEALTHY!!!!! And be safe. Hang in there with all the craziness going on and I'll have a chapter out in 3 or 4 days for u guys <3  
> I love you all 3000


	26. Swing and a Miss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo lovely readers! Back at it again. Sorry this wasn't sooner than later. I think next one should be same wait length. This is a sweet chapter <3 all fluff. Peter finallyyyyy stands up to a certain bully, he and Tony have a talk and turns out May is not too bad with a baseball bat when someone comes breaking into the house. Who knew?  
> Ahahaha I hope you all are doing well, hanging in there, and not too bored. Enjoy spring break! My lovely mother is taking it upon herself to give me school so save yourselves please :)  
> AND STAY HEALTHY!  
> I need coffee. I love you all so much, thank you for all of your comments and kudos, they mean the world. Enjoy the chapter!! <3 <3

Peter tightened the straps on his backpack as he walked up the steps of the highschool on Monday. Holding open the front door for someone, he stepped in, scanning the room for Ned. Peter swerved around people in the busy hall and jogged up the steps to his locker, sticking to the rail. As he rounded the corner on the upper level he caught side of his two friends. MJ saw him first and smirked, giving him the middle finger and a smile broke out onto Peter's face. 

Ned spun, his eyes widening in relief and he gave Peter a hug when he got close enough, "I'm glad you're ok. You're ok?"

"Yes Ned, I'm fine," Peter laughed, rolling his eyes and patting his friend on the back. 

"Hey just went on an internship trip," MJ scoffed. "It's not like he saved the world."

Peter looked down to hide his smile and nodded, "Yeah, it was no big deal." No big deal. Just almost died. Tortured by a lunatic. Watched a best friend die in front of him, and yeah, saved the world. 

"Well I didn't say that," MJ corrected instantly. "It _is_ a big deal. How is the Stark internship going anyway?"

Peter smiled at the thought of Tony. He was going to see him tomorrow; it already felt weird not being at the compound after spending so much time with them. His excitement must have shown on his face because both of his friends perked up at his expression."Really, really cool. I hung out with the Avengers," Peter said with a grin.

"No way," MJ swore. 

"Yeah- " Peter's hairs stood up on the back of his neck and he flinched. God, not today. A hand came biting down on his arm and he winced as Flash gripped his shoulders.

"No way," Flash mocked, his grip seemingly burning into Peter's skin. It took everything in him not to flip Flash over his shoulder and shove his heel into his face.

"Do you just butt into other people's conversations?" Ned sighed. 

"Tell us about it Parker," Flash said with a grin.

"Why?" Peter scoffed, itching to punch him in the face. "It's not like you believe me."

"Because it's bullcrap. You? An internship with Tony Stark?" Flash laughed, nudging Peter's shoulder mockingly.

"I think you're jealous," MJ raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

Flash shot her a look , "Yeah right." Then he turned his attention back to Peter, jostling him, "Come on, Pete. I thought you would be better at lying."

Peter shrugged him off and faced him, tired of having his enemy at his back. He scoffed, "What, like you? And it's _Peter._ "

Flash's eyes gleamed and for a second Peter thought he was gonna get a fist to the face, which he knew he would have to take. Instead, Flash took a deep breath, and he jabbed his shoulder into Peter's arm as he walked away, "You're lucky I'm in a good mood today Parker."

"I'll get him for that later," MJ swore angrily, shaking her head. 

Peter shook his head, flexing his shoulder and unclenching his hand. His fingers ached and Peter sighed, "It's fine."

"i gotta go to class," Ned blurted out suddenly, giving Peter a pointed look. "Peter, I'll see you in there. MJ, I'll catch up with you at lunch, ok? Ok, Peter. Bye guys. Have fun. Bye." Ned awkwardly walked off at Peter's long hard, glare, which he cut when MJ turned around. 

"W-what the heck was that?" Peter forced a laugh, rubbing the straps of his backpack between his fingers. 

MJ chuckled, "He's probably stressed about the chem test we have today."

"Ah," Peter said, shoving his hands into his pockets as he bit his lip and admitted, "Yeah, I haven't really studied for that."

"Most of the answers are A," MJ said helpfully. 

Peter grinned, "Thanks." Then he rubbed the back of his neck. "S-sorry for missing your calls, and texts. I had my phone turned off and I didn't use it for like the whole conference."

MJ nodded her head down the hall and they started walking to their class. She shrugged, "I figured as such. Ned- he was the one worried," she assured him quickly, "I-I wasn't...Just so you know."

"I figured," Peter smiled, looking down. 

MJ shoved him suddenly, "But you go radio silence without telling us again and I'll kill you."

"Noted," Peter laughed. 

"I'll- I'll see you after class, ok Pete?" she said, putting her hand on the wall as she turned into her classroom.

"Yeah-yeah, ok," Peter smiled as she entered the room, leaving him standing in the center of the hallway. Someone bumped into him and Peter quickly shuffled into his classroom, maneuvering around desks and taking a seat next to Ned. 

"Well, did you tell her?" Ned whispered. 

Peter shot him a look, "No Ned, I'm not going to tell her that in the middle of the hallway."

Ned sighed, "Well I know that. You need to be alone. And you know how you need to be alone? By asking her out. Which means, step one, is telling her that you like her, which yes, you could have done in the middle of the hallway."

"I just got back from nearly dying, maybe you could give me like a day?" Peter hissed, looking around to make sure none of his classmates had heard him. 

Ned put up his hands, "I rest my case."

Peter's gaze flicked back to him and he made a face, "Don't give me a look."

"I'm not giving you a look," Ned sniffed. 

"Yes you are," Peter insisted, "That's the look."

"I'm just saying dude, you're gonna wish you did it sooner than later, ok? That's all," Ned whispered. 

Peter sighed and slumped in his seat, dragging his backpack off the desk and too the floor, slipping out a pencil and sighing. He rubbed his sore ribs and nodded, "You're probably right."

After another block, which Peter and Ned also shared, it came time for lunch, and they waited by MJ's classroom which was down the hall. Suddenly the door crashed open and Flash charged through with two of his friends, storming away in a fit of yelling. 

Peter heard him as he walked down. Flash was swearing, "If I find out who ratted me out, they're dead."

"What was that about?" Ned wondered.

Peter watched them carefully until they dissapeared and shrugged, "I don't know." MJ casually walked out with a smug smile on her face and Peter raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"

"Someone gave Mrs. Johnson a tip that Flash was planning to cheat on his test," MJ said, a smile growing on her face. 

"You," Peter grinned, swerving to look where Flash had stomped down the hallway and then back at her, "Why the heck did you do that?"

MJ shrugged and starting walking down the hall to the cafe, Ned and Peter stumbling to follow her. She grinned over her shoulder, "I told you I'd get him back for what he said this morning."

Peter stared at her and then looked over at Ned who was just as surprised. He caught up to her and they all were laughing as they walked down the steps. Peter slung his backpack down on the table and slid into his seat when they arrived at the cafeteria.

"Food," Ned motioned and Peter made a face. 

"Line's too long," Peter sighed in annoyance, looking at the crowd of people he didn't want to stand in.

"Fine. So how are you on that project?" Ned asked, rolling his eyes.. 

Peter nodded thoughtfully, "I got an extension on it so I turn it in next week, thank God."

"Lucky," Ned cursed. 

"Screw school," MJ said with a grin, throwing a chip at Peter. "Tell us how the conference went."

Peter smiled, "It went pretty well actually. We uh- talked to some German people, I learned some Russian, and-" he struggled to find things he could say but none could come to mind. Then he snickered and looked up, "Tony taught me how to drive, which was...eventful."

Ned laughed, "Tony Stark taught you how to drive?"

"It was kind of a last minute thing," Peter nodded. 

"That's insane. What about the Avengers, how were they?" MJ pried. 

"Crazy," Peter admitted. "They play football. Say lot of inside jokes that I don't get-"

"Are you like, heir to Stark Industries?" Ned asked excitedly. 

Peter made a face and recoiled, "What? No. I- I haven't even thought of it like that- Ned, how do you even think up these questions?"

Suddenly Peter froze and he tensed. Part of him wanted to spin around and throw a punch, swipe the bully's feet out from under him and slam his head into the bench. Instead he let the hand grab the back of his shirt and slam him forward into the table. 

MJ jumped back in shock and Ned got to his feet, demanding, "Flash, cut it out."

"You think it's funny Parker?" Flash seethed. 

"Depends on what you mean," Peter groaned out, pushing back weakly, his head flat against the table, Flash leaning over him.

"Flash! Let him go," MJ demanded but the boy didn't pay her any attention. 

"Ratting me out today? You think I wouldn't find out it was you?" the bully snarled. 

Peter looked sideways at MJ who was about to open her mouth and he quickly spluttered, "Yeah, I thought it was hilarious. Wasn't news though, everyone knows you cheat on those tests."

MJ's mouth dropped as Flash angrily yanked him up and pulled him off the bench. Peter felt his hands curl into fists and he twisted, shaking, getting face to face with the boy. His lungs tightened but his breathing sped up and Peter grit his teeth, trying to avert his gaze. Not now...not today...not after everything- _come on_ Peter.

_Peter didn't stop, he could barely hear Miles' pleas. All he knew was that his mission was to kill the boy underneath him. That boy was still breathing. He had promised to kill him- he remembered that- but what for? Why was he trying to kill his old friend? Peter didn't remember. He didn't care._

_"Peter wait-" Miles stuttered groggily._

_Peter cut his words off with another punch, his fist aching. He fisted Miles' collar and slammed him into the ground, once, twice._

_"Please-"_

_Peter repeatedly hit him, fury taking over him, and eventually Miles stopped fighting._

_Peter slammed his knuckles into Miles jaw so hard he think he broke a finger before he collapsed, his palms hitting the ground around Miles' head. Peter was breathing hard, exhausted, Miles barely breathing underneath him._

_Peter lay there for a minute, gasping for breath, Miles coughing beneath him, blood staining Peter's hands. The suit had broken due to the severity of the hits._

_"Good work Pete."_

Peter shook himself out of the flashback and attempted to center himself, blinking as his vision came and went. 

"You got quite a mouth today Parker, you get up on the right side of the bed this morning?" Flash hissed. 

Peter managed a laugh, "And you're cranky today. You have a late night last night?"

Flash sneered and grabbed the front of his collar. Peter dug his feet into the ground and blinked, hard, swallowing bile with effort.

"Flash, let him go," Ned said nervously. He stepped forward but Flash's two friends gave him a look and he had no choice but to back off and watch helplessly. MJ was still frozen a couple feet away, but Peter was glad she wasn't getting involved. 

_"Your entire life you have been tortured to the point where you can't breathe. Where you can't see because of the blood in your eyes. Well right now Peter that's not blood, you're just seeing red. Because you have always been a killer, there is no escaping what you already know. It's there to stay, inside you. HYDRA made you Peter, and you can't escape us. You will see me every time you close my eyes, you will see my brother, you will see the men that cranked that electric shock machine up to the max. But the worst part wasn't the pain, the worst part was how bad you wanted that pain to stop- and what you were willing to do to make it stop-"_

Peter's eyesight was being overrun by white spots and he blinked again, more harshly this time, his eyes darting to the side as red started creeping in. He grit his teeth in pain and struggled as a result of his internal battle. NO, he pleaded with himself. 

Flash took this as fear and he grinned, "You scared Pete?"

Peter scoffed, his anger getting the better of him and he snapped, "You wish. And it's Peter, _Eugene_."

Silence. 

No one called Flash by his real name. No one. 

Flash's grip tightened on his collar and Peter made eye contact with him despite his inner voice urging him not to. He couldn't help it. Peter grinned, venom in his gaze as he desperately tried to blot out the red. His vision was getting fuzzy as he fought it. 

"Peter," Ned called weakly.

No, don't do it, he begged himself. Peter saw a tint of red. A warning...

No.

Don't, he told himself. 

Peter bit his cheek, hard.

_"You don't intimidate me Peter. I control you. I have been behind the wheel your entire life, I know your every move, like I've proven, I know your deepest darkest secrets- I almost know you better than you know yourself."_

_"You're a killer."_

"You're gonna regret that Parker," Flash swore. 

"Bite me," Peter snarled back. He couldn't even feel the sting of his palms anymore. The clenched fists, nails digging into his fists, it felt normal... it kept him focused.

No.

"Flash, let him go," MJ said.

"And why's that Michelle?" Flash said furiously, his glower boring down on Peter who was glaring fiercely back. 

"Because it was _me_ you jerk. I sold you out for cheating," she sneered confidently. "Peter wasn't even in your class, why did you even assume it was him?" she said firmly, crossing her arms. 

Flash let go of Peter's collar and pushed him, and Peter, dazed and in pain, stumbled back into the table, breathing hard, his fists still clenched. The red faded only slightly, but it was enough that Peter could gasp for air and start clawing his way back. He couldn't see straight, but he knew Flash was advancing on MJ who stood her ground. 

"You gonna punch a girl?" MJ dared defiantly. 

Peter staggered to his feet, kicking one of Flash's friends in the gut who tried to approach him. The boy flew backward a little too far, tumbling on the ground, but no one saw it; the attention was on Flash and MJ. 

Peter grabbed his side in pain, his ribs aching as he made his way forward, trying to blink out the red that was soaking into his vision. Come on Pete, this isn't you. You beat it once, you can do it again, come on.

Flash furiously surged forward and Peter lunged, side stepping in front of him and pushing him hard in the chest. Gasps were let out in the cafeteria as Flash stumbled back and Peter's glare met his enemies' enraged gaze. 

"Screw off Parker," Flash snarled and he swung. Peter ducked, pushing him in the chest again. Flash staggered for the second time, clearly surprised by the force and Peter sucked in a deep breath and started forward. His hands shaking as he controlled his powers and his eyesight narrowed as he took a deep breath. Come on Pete, you're Spiderman.

"Oh, you're gonna get it now," Flash swore, throwing another punch that Peter easily blocked. He swerved around the other one and caught Flash's wrist in his forearm. Peter twisted and then froze, his hand clenched in a fist, ready to hit. He had an opening. He had a shot. 

What if he hurt him? 

What if he hit too hard?

Peter clenched his fist and then unclenched it, gritting his teeth, his glare fierce.

_"You don't think you control your powers?" Tony asked._

_"I know I can't," Peter said firmly._

_"Hit me," Tony said suddenly._

_Peter's gaze snapped up, "What?"_

_"Hit me," Tony repeated._

_Peter spluttered, "No!"_

_"Yes," Tony urged. "Come on. Do it."_

_"You're crazy," Peter nodded, his eyes wide._

_"I've been called worse. Hit me," Tony said again._

_"Why?"_

_"Because I want you to see that you can control your power kid. You're the strongest teenager I know, and the smartest. You're telling me you can reroute a compressor on one of Tony freaking Stark's iron man suit prototypes, but you can't throw a punch?"_

_"I can throw a punch," Peter said defensively, "but it will just knock you halfway across the room."_

_"Then don't do that," Tony said simply. "Pull the punch."_

_Peter scoffed, "It's not that easy."_

_"It is that easy," Tony corrected. "Just like the suit. We give it a lot of power, but we want to control the stabilizers."_

_"Fine."_

_"Fine!" Tony nodded. Peter curled his fist, staring Tony down and bending his knees. "What the heck are you doing?" Tony asked in confusion._

_"I've never fake punched anyone before," Peter mumbled._

_Tony sighed, "I didn't ask you to fake punch me, I asked you to real punch me."_

_"I-" Peter lowered his hand, hesitating._

_"Chicken," Tony said._

_"Don't call me that."_

_"Well that's what you are."_

_"Shut up."_

_"You didn't have a problem punching me on the plane when we first met."_

_"Yeah because-"_

_"Stop stalling. Seriously do I have to hold your hand?"_

_"I hate you."_

_"Good. Punch me."_

_"Ok, I will."_

_"Ok!"_

_Peter grit his teeth, wound up, and before he could lose courage, punched Tony across the face. Tony barely flinched and he raised an eyebrow, almost laughing at how weak it was. "Ok, you must be really off your game there because that was-"_

Peter swung his fist, catching Flash in the face. The bully staggered and Peter let him go as he pushed backward. Flash grabbed his jaw in shock and looked up at Peter who stood there in equal amount of awe, just for different reasons. 

Holy crap.

At this point, the principle had entered the cafeteria and yelled, "Parker! Thompson! My office, now!"

Peter hung his head and turned to walk away before suddenly Flash tackled him around the waist, slamming his elbow into Peter's cheek. Peter groaned and twisted, blocking a punch and giving Flash a nice uppercut to his nose before kicking him off him. Peter rolled and got to his feet, stumbling backward with fists up, ready to land another blow.

Suddenly MJ was there, a hand on his shoulder, glaring at Flash and positioning herself in front of him. 

Flash was groaning on the floor, not seriously injured, but only making people think he was, which didn't help his case. Everyone was clapping and shouting for Peter, a growing mob forming the cafeteria. 

"Parker, office," the principal said firmly as he shoved through students to try and get involved and Peter nodded, wiping his split lip. He made eye contact with Ned who saw MJ was with him and Ned mouthed, _Go._

MJ grabbed Peter's arm and started walking, but not before she planted a sharp heel into Flash's hand that was in their path, "Oops," she snarled, looking over her shoulder, "Sorry."

Peter grinned and slurred, "Petty."

"What can I say, I would have done worse if he had thrown the punch," she sniffed as they exited the cafeteria. "You didn't have to step in front of him you know."

"I know," Peter admitted. "But I was the one who had rallied him up. He wasn't in his right mind when he turned to you."

"Cause you called him _Eugene_ ," MJ laughed out loud, shaking her head in disbelief. 

"Yeah, I did," Peter chuckled, grabbing his ribs and groaning. 

MJ's grip tightened on his arm and she looked at him with a concerned expression, "You ok? Did he catch you in the ribs?"

"No," Peter shook his head. "It's...it's an old injury. Something I have to explain." There were a lot of things he had to explain. 

"What?" MJ said with a nervous laugh. She looked at him in confusion, her brown curly hair falling in front of her face before she swiped it back behind her ear. 

"There's a lot of things I need to talk to you about," Peter admitted when they got to the principal's office. He looked sadly inside and then over her shoulder at the sound of faint voices from down the hall. Then he turned back to her, speaking quickly, "but right now, I'm kinda...not able to. So-"

"You can just tell me now," MJ said simply, letting out a light laugh. This obviously made no sense to her. But this wasn't a kind of quick, last minute, kind of...thing. 

"It's not really something I can just...tell you?" Peter said quietly.

"Ok, so, after then," MJ looked over his shoulder. "And if you need me to step in and beat up Flash properly, just distract Principal Morita for me, ok?"

"How do I get your attention?" Peter joked. 

"Birdcall," MJ grinned before backing away.

She slipped down the hall as Principal Morita rounded the corner. The principal put his hand on Peter's shoulder and led him in. Flash came in behind him and he shoved Peter in the back but this time he didn't budge, he just stopped moving. Then he turned around, fueled by the wavering confidence in the bully's eyes.

Flash snarled, "You're dead Parker. Dead."

"Ok buddy," Peter smiled cockily. He realized he sounded a lot like Tony and that only widened his smile to Flash's anger. 

"Eugene, that's enough," Principal Morita snapped, and Flash backed off, sitting down, still glaring at Peter. "I'm extremely disappointed in the both of you. As principal, I care about how students act when they are in this school and out. We have a reputation here, and so do each and every one of you. Throwing fists in the middle of the cafeteria, for whatever reason is unacceptable. I know you know that; you both are good kids."

Peter couldn't hide his snort, looking sideways at Flash, but he quickly killed his smile when the principal shot him a look. 

"I expect you boys to behave. Detention for the both of you. A week," he said firmly, and Peter held back a curse. Flash didn't and Principal Morita looked at him, "That's two weeks for you Flash. Anything else you would like to say?"

Peter grinned at Flash who kept the rest of his cussing to himself and fumed, "No sir."

The principal looked back and forth between them, "And you better promise me this won't happen again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Peter and Flash said slowly. The principal nodded and both boys stood up to leave before he put up a hand, "Mr. Thompson you can stay for a while."

Flash spun in anger, "Why me?"

Principal Morita stood and smiled calmly, "Well I know Peter finished the fight, but I have multiple accounts from students, and personal reasons that lead me to think you started it. Would you like to tell me I'm wrong?"

Flash grumbled and sat down, shooting daggers at Peter who thanked his principal and left Flash steaming in the office. Peter wiped his lip on his shirt and hurried down the hall where MJ was waiting. 

"You didn't need a bird call," MJ noticed, getting up from where she had been leaning against the wall. 

Peter grinned with a shrug as he ran up to her, "Nah, I handled myself."

MJ frowned, crossing her arms, "You get in trouble?"

"Week detention. Could be worse," Peter admitted. "Could be Flash. He's still in there," he grinned, looking over his shoulder. 

MJ handed him his bag and winced, "He deserves it. Peter, I'm sorry. I didn't think he would blame you-"

"It wasn't your fault," Peter shook his head, slinging his backpack on. "He's an idiot. We knew that."

"Yeah, we did," MJ laughed before she hit his shoulder. "Ok, now what were you going to tell me?"

Peter looked around in the empty hall before he spotted a security camera. He had no clue if they were on but he didn't want to risk it. He led her around the corner and MJ laughed as he looked around to make sure no one was there, "Why so secret?"

Without thinking, Peter said, "I don't want them to pick it up."

"All of this, just to tell me you like me?" MJ grinned. 

Peter blanched and froze, his gaze snapping to meet hers, "I- uh- what?"

"Or is that, not what you were...gonna say?" MJ killed her smile, looking nervous. MJ never looked nervous. And she was never speechless. 

Peter pointed at her and spoke quickly, "You seemed pretty thrilled with that idea though."

"What, no, I just thought it-" MJ stuttered before she questioned, "wait so you don't like me?"

"No, what-" Peter said and MJ faltered.

"Oh."

Peter backtracked in a panic, his eyes widening as he winced, "Wait- yes! No! Yes!"

"What?"

Peter winced again, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "Of course- it's just- it's not that-"

"Forget I said anything Pete," she said, clearly embarrassed. "I'll see you in class, ok?" She turned to walk down the hall and Peter cursed. 

"No- MJ, wait-" He put his fingers to his palm and shot a web. MJ froze and Peter squeezed his eyes shut, waiting a second before daring to open them. MJ slowly turned to look at the web that had caught her arm, attached to her jacket. Peter let it fall and stepped up cautiously to meet her in the middle of the hallway. 

MJ stared at him, fingering the sticky webbing. She took a quick breath and blurted out, "You're-"

"Yeah," Peter said weakly. 

MJ nodded, "And-"

"Yeah," Peter said again. 

"That's-" she said breathlessly.

"I know," Peter winced. 

MJ looked at the web in her hands one more time before pointing at him, "You're not screwing with me?"

"No," Peter shook his head.

"You're completely serious, cause' it's not funny," MJ said firmly, her eyes wide. 

Peter shook his head again, "Uh uh. Dead serious. Do you need me to do the web thingie again-" 

"No. No. Ok, because I was only like 67 percent sure-" she spluttered.

"Wait, you knew?" Peter demanded. 

"I had a hunch, yeah. You and Ned always talking weird behind my back," MJ said, breathing hard and waving her hand, "I think I heard him say it once. You have insane reflexes, and you're cuts just like...healed. I watch the news. Spiderman gets hurt, and- and one time when Spiderman- you stopped a car from hitting a bus you crushed your ribs and then the next day you came in with busted ribs. You made up some excuse. And that wasn't the only time. But I didn't think I was right!"

"Is it that obvious?" Peter exclaimed, suddenly self conscious that half the school knew but just wasn't saying anything. 

"No!" MJ shook her head, "No, not at all. I'm just very observant."

"Because you were watching me?" Peter asked slowly.

"Well yeah," MJ said awkwardly. 

"Just because you thought I was Spiderman, right?" Peter stutters. "No...other reason?"

"Other reason? What- what other reason...would there be?" MJ said, shifting her weight from foot to foot. 

"I- I uh, I don't know," Peter shrugged it off. 

"Wait so, this past week," she brushed hair behind her ear and pressed her fingers against her head. "You weren't actually on a Stark Internship trip, were you? And all those times you canceled on Ned and I for studying, or didn't answer your phone- or broke your phone-" 

"Aren't you two supposed to be in class?" a teacher rounded the corner, making them both jump. 

MJ shoved the web into her pocket and called over her shoulder, "Sorry." She grabbed Peter's arm and walked quickly down into an empty hallway. "So this changed a lot- I-"

"I know you have a lot of questions. I'll tell you everything," he assured her, "just...not right now, ok?"

MJ blinked and centered herself, taking a deep breath. "Ok, ok," she said, pressing her hands to her head.

"Ok," Peter nodded.

"Yeah," MJ shrugged. "So...I'll see you...then. Tomorrow. I have a club...today, have to go to," she stuttered, clearly flustered. 

Peter smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"So your ribs," she pointed awkwardly. 

"I'll be ok," he cracked a smile. 

MJ nodded, before she walked forward and hugged him tightly. Peter returned the hug before MJ pulled away, brushing her hair behind her ear and nodding vigorously, "Tomorrow. Ok." She turned around and took four steps before she spun back, "Also? Now I actually will kill you if you don't answer your phone for three days."

Peter grinned, "Got it."

"Don't you have stuff to do?" Peter grinned, jogging down the steps to the lab. He picked up a wrench and started twirling it around his finger as an old habit, patting the robot on it's long arm, "Hey DUM-E."

Tony looked up from across the room and grinned, "Hey kid. Glad you could make it."

"Of course I could make it. It's not like I have anything better to do," Peter snorted. "May's taking a late shift anyway so I convinced her to go to bed."

Tony had called him, asking to swing by the compound for a couple hours to work on some tech. He was supposed to see him tomorrow, but he was more than happy to see the Avengers and Tony a day earlier. It kept his mind off things that Peter wouldn't even let surface. If he didn't think of them, he could almost pretend they hadn't happened. 

"What about homework?" Tony asked, flicking aside a screen and expanding a 3D model.

Peter scoffed, "Really? Also hi." He ducked to look at Tony under the screen and waved sarcastically to get the man's attention. "Hello. Hi. Nice to see you too."

"I hear an annoying teenager DUM-E, I need to get my ears checked," Tony said thoughtfully, swiping the screen so it moved in front of Peter's face.

"Hey, you were the one who asked me to stop by," Peter reminded him, straightening so he could peer over the top of the screen with a grin.

"There it is again," Tony tisked, Then he pointed behind him and held out his hand, "Tablet. How was school?"

"Oh so I exist now, good to know," Peter joked. He looked behind him and webbed the tablet that was sitting on the counter. Tossing it to Tony and hoping up on a lab bench, he wrung his hands, "I- uh- told MJ."

Tony slid the screen aside, a cheerful smile growing on his face, "That you liked her?"

"Kind of," Peter winced, blushing and twisting his hands in his shirt. "And also about Spiderman."

"That was bold of you. Which one were you planning on telling her?" Tony asked. Peter thought about that, before realizing he didn't know. His expression must have given it away because Tony chuckled, "You didn't know which one you were going to tell her. So you went in blind and both things sort of came out. Am I close?"

Peter nodded, "Apparently she knew already."

"She knew?" Tony chuckled, shaking his head. 

"67 percent," Peter stuttered in confusion. 

"So she was watching you then," Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Peter said firmly. 

Tony smirked, "So she likes you back."

"She didn't say so," Peter protested.

"Don't kick the gift horse in the mouth," Tony put up his hands with a grin. "She likes you kid. Can she keep the secret though?"

Peter snorted, "If Ned can, she most definitely can." He walked around the lab to see what Tony was working on, asking, "So what are we doing today?"

"We...are doing nothing," Tony said, closing the screen and crumpling up a piece of paper. He threw it into the trash can and crossed his arms, turning to face Peter who frowned.

"I'm here because we're going to do...nothing?" Peter said slowly.

"You need to allow yourself to catch your breath kid," Tony shrugged, leaning against the table and giving him a look.

Peter made a face back, "Catch my breath? Am I running or something?" He shouldn't have said that.

"Yeah," Tony said firmly. "Yeah, actually, you are. Running away from it."

"Tony, don't give me this, I'm fine," Peter groaned, walking around the table. "I'm not in the mood for a therapy session."

"This isn't a therapy session Pete, this is just me concerned about you," Tony insisted, following him. "We got back not three days ago and you're already acting like you're fine, waltzing around, probably even forcing yourself to think you're A ok too, am I right?"

Peter didn't answer. "Whatever," he said, shaking his head and refusing to look behind him.

"Don't whatever me Parker, I know you. And I know if I hadn't called you over you would probably go out for another late patrol, run yourself to the ground and get back late, not caring how hurt you get. Because if it takes your mind off of what happened in the past three days, it's good enough for you," Tony said matter-of-factly. 

Rage boiled in Peter's chest. Feelings of fear and anger that he had kept locked away rose up again and overtook him and Peter spun in fury, "Oh you mean about letting the one thing I promised myself would never happen, happen? That I almost became a killer? Or do you mean getting tortured by some lunatic who was related to the person I hate more than anyone in the world? Or wait, are you talking about when I had to watch my best friend die in front of me?" Peter snapped. "Which part?"

"All of it," Tony said quietly, not phased by his outburst, as if it proved him right.

Peter shook his head and scoffed, "Yeah it happened. Yeah, it sucks. What do you want me to do about it, cry?"

"No-" Tony said angrily, gritting his teeth. 

Peter was furious. He was having a good day and he was not in the mood for this. Peter rubbed his his hands over his hair, shaking his head as he walked around the table again to keep himself moving. He turned to look at Tony and spread his hands, "Well then? What do you want me to do?" he demanded. 

"I want you to deal with it!" Tony shouted in exasperation, spreading his arms. "In some way. You're not alright Peter, no matter what you say to everyone. You know kid, you might have fooled everyone around you. Heck, you've probably even fooled yourself," Tony said sadly, "but you didn't fool me."

"Unbelievable," Peter shook his head and turned around. "I'm going home if we're gonna be doing nothing- and by the way, I am fine-"

"Have you been sleeping?" Tony snapped. 

Peter stopped, curling his fists and he turned around, "What kind of question-" 

"Don't bullcrap me Parker," Tony said firmly. "Don't take another step unless you can honestly tell me you got at least 4 hours of sleep in the last 3 days."

Peter couldn't walk out the door. He hung his head and turned around, slowly walking back and leaning against the table across from Tony, his knuckles white as he gripped the metal. "You're right," he croaked softly. "I'm not ok. I'm not dealing with it. I'm shoving it down. Because that's the only way I've dealt with things for the past 16 years and I can't stop now Tony," he insisted. Peter shook his head, "This is what I do."

"Yeah," Tony nodded, "and you need to fix that. A very wise person got mad at me for using humor as an escape route. They got mad at me for covering everything up. They said it wasn't good to hide what you feel and laugh about it, or brush over it, because it makes other people do the same. And I will say the same thing they told me. I see right through it, because I do it too."

"I said that," Peter grinned slightly. 

Tony looked at him with a blank expression and sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead in disappointment, "Yeah, exactly. You completely missed the joke about how I said a very wise person told me-"

"You think I'm a very wise person?" Peter asked innocently. 

"I _thought_ you were," Tony corrected with a grin. "But since that just went over your head- you sure you're a straight A student?"

"Shut up," Peter laughed before he looked at the floor, rubbing the back of his leg with his foot after he shifted his weight over.

"Anything else crazy happen today?" Tony pried.

"I- well...I punched Flash today," Peter admitted.

"You what?" Tony marveled, his head snapping to the side. "I was thinking like A on test but holy- what happened?" His eyes were wide with pride, concern, confusion and Peter got distracted trying to read Tony's gaze before he realized he had to answer a question. 

"He-" Peter realized he should probably leave this part out, but the words were already spoken, "he slammed me into the table and then pulled me out of the seat-"

"That little," Tony swore in anger.

Peter quickly kept talking, "He thought it was me who did something that MJ had done earlier. And I didn't want her to get hurt-"

"You selfless idiot," Tony mumbled.

"And then he went for her and I just-" Peter mimicked a swing. 

"He's not in the hospital is he?" Tony asked slowly. He almost sounded like he wanted him to be. 

Peter shot him a look, "Surprisingly, no. I- I pulled the punch like you said. Got detention for a week though."

"I don't care about that," Tony shrugged the last sentence off which made Peter smile. Then he clapped him on the shoulder, "I'm proud of you kid! That cocky brat got what he deserved," he said firmly before he looked up in question. "How did you do it? I know you've been...worried about hurting someone."

Peter looked up at him and grinned, "I thought of you."

"You thought of punching me?" Tony sighed. "Wow, thanks, I'm honored."

Peter shoved his shoulder, "No," he laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "No, I just remembered what you told me about pulling the punch."

Tony shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets, "I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what you thought of. I seem to be the target of most of the fists you throw. Why is that?"

"Well it's more of a running joke now than anything," Peter grinned. 

Tony's laugh dripped with sarcasm and he rolled his eyes, "So glad to hear that. You're the only person that I've allowed to punch me like that, by the way."

Peter snickered, "I could still get a punch in even if you tried to block it." He quickly got up from the table and rounded it with a smile on his face, dodging a ball of paper Tony threw at him. 

The man laughed, trying to be angry, "What did you just say?"

Peter laughed and threw it back, ducking behind the table, "I was kidding. It's a joke." Tony grinned and Peter walked back around to lean against the table next to him, letting a ball of paper hit him in the face and bounce off, tumbling to the floor and under a table. "Thanks Tony."

"I just...want you to be ok," Tony sighed. 

"I know. And I will be. I just need to...do it my way," Peter pleaded. 

Tony winced, "Peter your way-"

"But," Peter emphasized the conjunction. "I'll try to...I'll try. I promise. Thanks."

Tony nodded, understanding what he meant. "Ok," he said quietly. There was silence for a couple seconds before Tony leaned over and said, "I'm not in the mood for a sappy moment, just FYI."

"You're the one who turned it into a therapy session," Peter said pointedly. "I see a butterfly, doctor, just so you know."

"Oh well that's great news," Tony said sarcastically, pushing off the table. "There's something else we need to talk about though."

Peter groaned, putting his hands over his eyes, "Spare me the monologue."

"Relax kid, the world doesn't revolve around you," Tony grinned jokingly. 

"I bet you've heard that one a couple times," Peter took a jab at the man's ego. 

Tony smirked. "I did. At multiple board meetings. From Ross actually."

"Hate that guy," Peter shook his head sadly, "Such a shame what happened to him."

"Yeah, big bummer," Tony said thoughtfully. "Anyway, he told me that once- that the world didn’t all revolve around me, so the next meeting I attached a globe to the ceiling fan and put my desk in the middle of it."

Peter laughed, "What are you seven?"

"Forty-six actually," Tony said seriously before he grinned and reached into his back pocket. "Ok, anyway, anyway, I wasn't kidding about what I said about Pepper." He pulled out a box and tossed it to Peter who opened it excitedly. 

"Holy crap Tony," Peter grinned at the beautiful ring inside. "When did you get this?" he gasped.

"2008," Tony rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Happy's been carrying it for a...long time- anyway- I just...no one's seen it _and_ known that I want to propose yet, so consider yourself lucky. I only told you because you're a teenager and don't know the tough grip of love yet. You and MJ may get there though-"

"Stop," Peter said quickly. 

"Right, anyway, so yeah. Not bad, right?" Tony asked. 

Peter looked up at him and grinned, "You're nervous."

Tony stared at him blankly before making a face and snatching back the ring, "Darn right I'm nervous. Don't judge me. I'll make fun of you when you have to go through this."

"Well," Peter prompted. "What are you gonna do?"

"That's what I wanted your opinion on," Tony said, twirling the box between his hands. 

"If I'm gonna be perfectly honest?" Peter raised an eyebrow. "I don't think Pepper wants anything special. I mean, come on Tony, you guys are practically engaged already. I think she's just tired of waiting."

Tony stared at him before grumbling, "What are you, a marriage counselor?"

"You asked for my opinion, and I gave it," Peter put up his hands in surrender. 

Suddenly someone walked in, "What are you two smiling about?" Pepper laughed and entered the room, turning to close the door behind her. 

Tony's head snapped up and he dropped the ring box which clattered to the floor, the ring popping out and sliding across the tile.

"Oh crap," Peter hissed.

"Uh-" For once, Tony didn't have anything to say. The one time the billionaire was speechless was at the worst possible moment.

"I just wanted to check in on both of you-" Pepper said sweetly.

Tony and Peter made eye contact. Two more steps and Pepper would see the ring. She was about to look down when Peter made his move and pushed himself forward, knocking the table over. He toppled Tony as well who managed to stay on his feet as he fell forward, but Peter intentionally flopped, landing on top of the ring and box. 

The table clattered to the ground and Peter groaned but his hands closed over the prize with a sigh of relief.

Pepper looked up immediately at all the commotion and she ran forward once she saw him sprawled on the floor, exclaiming, "Oh my God, Peter!" Tony snapped out of his trance and jumped to his feet, leaning over Peter who was scrambling to put the ring back as Tony shielded him. 

Tony fisted Peter's shirt and pulled him to his feet. Peter put his hand with the box around Tony as he helped him up and when Pepper got close enough to check on Peter, Tony smoothly grabbed it behind his back and slipped it into his pocket. Both could breathe easy now.

"Are you ok?" Pepper asked in concern, her eyes widening as she looked Peter over. 

Tony brushed off his shirt and clapped him on the shoulder, "He's fine. You're fine, right?"

"I'm fine," Peter agreed, taking a deep breath before wincing. 

"Ribs ok?" Tony asked firmly and there was genuine concern in his gaze. 

"Fine," Peter wheezed. 

"That was dumb," Tony smirked before plastering a face of innocence on. "You should be more careful Pete."

"Oh yeah," Peter gave him a fake smile. "I'm such a clutz."

Pepper laughed, giving him a pat on the back, before she eyed Tony suspiciously and smirked, "You both are up to something. I'll figure it out eventually."

"What are you talking about?" Peter laughed nervously.

"We're not up-" Tony shook his head breathlessly. 

"We're not up to anything," Peter repeated with a shake of his head, crossing his arms out of habit. Tony, who already had his arms crossed, shot a glare at Peter out of the corner of his eye. They both uncrossed their arms.

"In fact, we were just about to go, right Pete?" Tony said, smiling at Pepper as he grabbed Peter's arm. 

"Right," Peter laughed as they walked to the door, "Yeah. We were gonna go, do the thing-"

Pepper smiled and waved in confusion as Tony dragged Peter out of the lab. She nodded before she realized, "Oh, right. Movie night. I'll be right up, ok?"

"Ok, sounds good. Love you honey," Tony said, flashing a smile before they turned the corner. 

Peter shoved him off once they got far enough down the hall and he straightened his shirt, shooting Tony a look, "You're welcome. Saved your-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tony waved him off. "You need to work on your fake falls."

"Oh well sorry," Peter scoffed, walking backwards so he could raise an eyebrow at Tony, " _you_ need to work on holding onto your freaking ring. Butterfingers."

"Clutz," Tony shot back, shoving him in the shoulder and turning him around so he was walking straight again. 

Peter rolled his eyes as they got to the steps before he put out his hand and stopped Tony. "Look, I do want to say though. You and Pepp," he shook his head with a small smile, "you guys are perfect for each other. I'm really happy for you Tony. And I know she's gonna say yes. So if I have to cover for you a million times before you finally get the guts to propose, just know I will, ok?"

Tony stared at him before he spoke softly, "God Pete, that was beautiful."

Tony reached for a hug, ducking his head and making a mocking sniffing noise. Peter slapped his arm laughing and pushed through the door to the steps, not bothering to hold it for the man behind him. "You suck," Peter swore as he jogged up the steps. 

"Aw, you don't mean that," Tony grinned, following him. "It's good to see you happy kid," he said after one flight of just traded chuckling. 

"Yeah," Peter said, smiling to himself. "It feels good," he admitted, before he slowed and called behind him. "It feels...weird," he corrected, looking back at Tony. "Like I shouldn't be. Like it's wrong to be."

"It's not wrong to be happy," Tony raised an eyebrow. 

"After everything that's happened, after everything I've seen? It scares me how well I can just shove it down and act like I'm ok. I know that's wrong Tony I just...can't help it. And you were right. No, I'm not sleeping. Because every time I close my eyes I get these nightmares. But it's like I'm ok with that because if I ignore those and just don't sleep...it's like everything's normal," Peter admitted. 

"You call me next time," Tony said firmly. "I'm the one who doesn't sleep, ok? That's my thing. I won't let that happen to you too."

Peter gave him a small smile, "Yeah. But just...I feel...guilty. I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

Tony nodded firmly, "Understandable. It's a fresh wound. Peter, it's not a crime to move on. There's just a fine line between that and shoving it away so you never have to deal with it externally. I know you got all billion Rocky movies going on inside that head of yours."

"I don't get that reference," Peter winced. 

Tony put a hand to his head before scoffing, "Alright Capsicle. That's next on our list. At least after tonight's masterpiece."

"Wait, so you weren't kidding about the movie?" Peter asked. 

"No, the team's up there waiting," Tony caught up to him and held open the door. "Get ready for one of the best movies of all time. Guaranteed gonna be in your top 10 list."

"What's it called?" Peter asked as he walked through already hearing the shouts and laughs of the Avengers down the hall. 

"Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Tony grinned.

Peter got out the car later that night, saying bye to Happy who drove off and Peter grinned, slinging off his bag and sticking his hand in the front pocket for his key. Peter got to the door of the apartment building and still couldn't find it. 

"Gosh darnit," he groaned, crouching on the ground underneath the awning and swiping his hand along the floor of the bag. "Come on...come on..." Peter winced as he continued to blindly search before he let out an even louder groan. 

He knew where his key was. In his room. On his desk. Where he had left it. 

"Nice one Pete," Peter groaned, face palming himself before putting his backpack on and stepping backward to see the building. He craned his neck until found his apartment and cursed when he saw the light was off. He didn't want to wake May, she was probably asleep. 

Peter stood there for a second before he looked around to see if anyone was around. The street was empty and no windows were open. Peter ran to the alley on the side of the building and stripped down to his boxers.

"This is ridiculous," Peter mumbled, "So freaking cold-" He slipped on his suit and shoved the mask on over his head. Then stuffing the rest of his clothes in his bag and ran to the wall and started climbing, making his way up the building and to the window by his room. 

Peter froze as someone watered their windowsill plants a couple windows down, letting out a sigh of relief when they closed the window and returned inside. Peter finally made it, gently pushing open the window and crawling onto the ceiling. He turned around and stuck out his foot, closing the window before reaching to shut the latch. 

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

Peter's spider senses flared and he dropped to the floor, something swinging and narrowly missing his head. It was dark but Peter knew that voice anywhere and he knew his aunt was armed with what looked to be a baseball bat.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Peter rolled to the side as the bat came down again where he had been laying and he staggered to his feet, crashing into his dresser. He ducked again and yelled, "MAY! STOP! It's- me- it's Peter! May, it's me!"

May stopped mid swing and Peter grabbed the edge of the bat before it could hit him across the head. Her eyes widened and she yelled, "Why do you have a mask?"

Peter yanked off the mask with one hand and spluttered, "Why do you have a bat?"

"Because someone just came through my nephew's window!" she yelled at him. "I thought you were a predator!"

"Fair enough," Peter admitted before he made a face, "What predator do you know that could scale an apartment building to break in?"

"Someone- what are you wearing-" May went over to turn on the light and Peter yelled, putting out his hand and wondering if he should web her, before realizing that would probably make things worse.

"NO! NO- wait-" he pleaded.

May flicked the light on and turned around. For a second they both just stood there. Then May took a deep breath. Peter winced. 

"WHAT THE F-"

"I can explain!" Peter yelled. 

"You better!" May demanded, readying the bat again in confusion and shock. "What the-"

"Since when did we have a baseball bat?" Peter suddenly asked. 

"PETER!"

"Can you not freak out!" Peter spluttered in a panic, his voice cracking, "Because when you freak out, I freak out-"

"Well excuse me if I'm a little freaked out my nephew just came in the millionth story window sticking to the ceiling wearing a Spiderman suit so you better explain yourself right now!" May screamed. 

"It's just a costume?" Peter squeaked hopefully. 

"Try agan," May snarled.

"Well there's really nothing...to explain," Peter admitted. "I'm...yeah."

"How did you get up here?" May demanded. 

"I- I climbed..." Peter said weakly. 

"How?" May said, her tone icy cold. 

Peter's brow furrowed, "Because I'm Spiderman?"

"Yeah, I figured that much out by myself Peter," she said furiously. "How did this all happen?"

"I didn't want you to find out like this," Peter winced. 

"Yeah, well I found out," May snapped. "Peter Benjamin Parker if you don't start talking right now-" she swore furiously.

"HYDRA," Peter said weakly. "I didn't tell you because I thought you would be in danger. But I was going to tell you soon because a couple days ago we finally stopped HYDRA May. Once and for all. Everyone is gone."

"The conference," she said slowly. "Tony Stark."

"Yeah," Peter mumbled. "It wasn't exactly a conference. Every time I've been on a conference with Stark Internships- this is the internship May. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I just thought I was protecting you."

"How long?" May asked. "How long have you had your powers?"

"Since I went to that base," Peter mumbled. "I had them when I came back, but I just didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to risk losing the only family I had just because I have these powers that make me a freak. Tony knew but I made him promise not to say anything. And the Avengers. May, I didn't want you to find out like this-"

"Tony Stark," she said again and Peter eyed her nervously as she fumed. "He brought you on that trip? Back to the same people that took you in the first place?"

"May, it wasn't his fault-" Peter protested.

"TONY STARK!" May yelled at him, even though her anger was directed at someone else.

"HE DIDN'T WANT ME GOING, OK!" Peter yelled. "He tried to keep me home. He even threw me off a plane- I shouldn't have said that- it's not what you think. He didn't want me going, he never does. Tony wants me to be safe more than anything in the world. He's wanted to keep me out of it all this entire time, but I refused to sit this one out May, I couldn't. This was my fight, this was my war and I fought it, and we won. I couldn't just be benched, I had to do something. After what happened with Ben-" Peter froze. 

May set down the bat finally, which was a good sign and she sucked in a breath, "Peter? What- w-what happened with Ben honey?"

Peter felt tears in his eyes and he collapsed onto his bed, looking down at his feet, "It was my fault."

"Peter," May said quietly, sitting next to him and putting her hand on his shoulder, rubbing the red fabric. 

"It was all my fault May, I'm sorry. We got into a fight. I was in a store and this man stole from the register and left. I didn't stop him. I could have stopped him- and Ben had followed me, he had come to try and bring me home. The man had a gun May, and I saw it in the store and I didn't do anything. And then I heard the shot-" Peter put his head in his hands, "That's why I was the first one on the scene. Because it was all my fault."

May didn't say anything. She just put her hand on Peter's back and stared at the ground, "Peter..."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"No, no Peter, don't," May said quietly, putting her arm around him. "Peter...it wasn't your fault. I miss Ben. More than anything. And I know you do too, but...Pete, if he was here right now he would say the same thing I am. It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you. Neither does he. And you shouldn't blame yourself. Just..." there were tears streaming down her cheeks as she turned Peter's chin gently, "you gotta lay it out for me kiddo. It's just you and me. Cut the bull from now on, you understand me? I don't want it. No more secrets anymore. Ok?"

Peter shook his head, "May there's a lot you don't know. Like what happened to me in that base. And I can't tell you- I don't want to tell you about any of that. I can't stand it if you look at me differently because of what happened in there. Please."

May faltered and she gently brushed his hair out of his eyes. Her voice was broken, "Peter-"

"Please," Peter pleaded. "If you ask I will say it, but I don't want to May. I've hated lying to you, absolutely hated it. Sneaking out, going out on patrol, saying I was going over to friends houses or staying late at school? I've hated it. You're the only family I have and I hated keeping this from you but May, the stuff I've done because of what HYDRA did..." he shook his head and looked down. "I don't want to keep secrets anymore, but that is the one thing I don't want you to know. Please?"

"Ok," she said slowly, wrapping her arms around him. Peter put his head down, shaking and let out a small laugh. 

"This was not how I wanted you to find out," he grinned. 

May laughed, "What, crawling through the window and almost getting killed by your own aunt? That wasn't what you envisioned?"

"Not quite," Peter smiled. 

"We're setting up rules," May informed him. "You're not getting out of that."

"Ugh, see this is why I didn't want to tell you," Peter groaned. 

"Or I can just-" May glared. 

"Rules are fine," Peter said quickly and May gave his shoulder a squeeze. "You ok?"

"I just found out my nephew is Spiderman. So no. I'm kind of in shock. But...I think I'll be ok," she said firmly. 

"Really?" Peter pried, just to make sure. "You're ok with this?"

"I'm proud of you," she said. "Are you hurt? All of those times- oh God-"

"I heal faster," Peter admitted, putting his hand on hers, "It's ok. I'm ok." She gently turned his head and saw the bruise on his jaw and Peter let out a small laugh, "Actually that wasn't from being Spiderman. I got into an actual fight with that bully today. I may or may not have detention for a week."

May fumed and bit her lip, before she broke into laughter and ruffled his hair, "What am I going to do with you Peter? I should be mad, but I'm not. I don't know why, but you're lucky."

Peter grinned, "Yeah, I am. You're taking this better than I thought you would."

May took a deep breath, "I'm screaming inside right now, don't get me wrong. I could ground you until college. Or yell at you. But...you save people's lives. And with everything that happened with your parents and then Ben, I understand why you didn't want to tell me."

"I just didn't want you to get hurt," Peter whispered. "I can't lose you. Not after...I can't."

May squeezed his shoulder, "I know honey. But mark my words, if you have some other crazy secret identity you don't tell me about and you crawl through that window?"

"Got it," Peter laughed before she could finish. He smiled and put his head on her shoulder, a tear trickling down his cheek as his breathing returned to normal, "No more surprises."

"Give me Tony's number," May said firmly. 

"May-" Peter started weakly, webbing his backpack, making May jump. 

"Nu uh-" she shook her head and put up her hand to silence him. "I'm not gonna...yell at him...too loudly."

Tony set down his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was 3 am and he was still up, refusing to sleep, tinkering away in the lab. He kicked up his feet, sinking into a chair before taking a deep breath. It had been an eventful night. After sending Peter home when the movie ended, Tony had gotten a call not an hour later from a very pissed off woman, whom he had calmed down and talked to. May was not happy, but she had her closure. Tony was not looking forward to the slap that came next time he saw her though; he knew it was coming. 

"You know FRIDAY, I think I'm going to take a nap. Does that make me responsible?" he asked out loud. 

_"Hardly,"_ was the response. 

Tony grinned and settled down. Just as he closed his eyes his phone rang and Tony opened one eye and groaned. He pushed off the table and scooted to the other table, spinning to a stop and flipping it over to see who was calling. 

He quickly answered, "Pete? Everything ok?"

Nothing.

"Peter?" he said again, more urgently.

 _"Yeah,"_ the kid responded breathlessly. _"Yeah, I'm ok. I just...needed to make sure you were."_

Tony looked down sadly, rubbing his hands together. "Nightmare?"

There was another beat of silence and then Peter said, _"Yeah."_

"Aw, and I'm not there for you to punch in the face," Tony grinned. "Such a shame."

 _"Yeah, big bummer. At least I still have a pillow,"_ Peter pointed out, engaging in the humorous conversation despite the fading waver in his tone. He was clearly shaken up and Tony hated it. 

"I'm sure May has the Notebook somewhere, you could figure something out," Tony assured him. 

_"Thanks,"_ Peter scoffed before pausing again. Then his concerned voice came over the line, _"What are you doing up?"_

"How do you know you didn't wake me up?" Tony countered. 

_"Because I know you,"_ Peter sighed. _"FRIDAY, he's in the lab isn't he?"_

"Don't answer that," Tony quickly said to his A.I. before he rubbed his neck, "Yeah, I'm in the lab, so?"

 _"So?"_ Peter mocked. _"Go to bed."_

"Ok. Fine, I will. Just you first," Tony said, leaning back in his chair.

_"You're impossible. What are you even doing?"_

"Curing the it's-none-of-your-business disease," Tony quipped.

 _"Funny,"_ Peter scoffed.

"I know I am," Tony grinned, before he sobered his tone. "You want to talk about it?"

 _"About what?"_ Peter said innocently. 

Tony rolled his eyes, "About thermonuclear physics Peter."

Peter took a deep breath, _"No. I'm fine."_

Tony made a face, "You don't sound fine."

 _"Well I am. It's just...it felt real. And I had to make sure it wasn't,"_ Peter said firmly.

"Well I'm fine kid, I swear," Tony assured him. "But any time you just need to hear my voice, give me a call, I'll tease you about it later."

 _"I'm gonna get hell for this tomorrow,"_ Peter said and Tony could practically see him smiling. _"You made me sound like wuss. I'm gonna hang up now."_

"Hey, if I had to get chewed up by your aunt for like an hour straight, you can handle this. Why the heck did you tell her I threw you off a plane?" he demanded.

 _"Because you did! And I thought it would show her that you wanted me to stay safe,"_ Peter said before pausing. _"You know, saying it out loud I see how that could have been taken the wrong way."_

"Yeah," Tony scoffed. "Makes me sound reckless and impulsive." Peter didn't say anything but Tony could hear him smirking and he scoffed, "Ok well maybe I am reckless and impulsive. But makes me sound like I don't care about you, how about that?"

 _"So you do care about me?"_ Peter asked innocently. 

Tony made a face and didn't take the bait, "Moral of the story kid, next time I throw you off a plane, don't tell your aunt, or better yet, listen to me so that doesn't happen."

 _"There's gonna be a next time?"_ Peter laughed nervously. 

Tony chuckled before they both went quiet. He asked, "You sure you're ok kid?"

 _"Yeah,"_ Peter said firmly. _"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake- what am I saying- you were up- I just needed to call because...yeah."_

"Yeah kid, I know the feeling," Tony assured him gently. A nightmare is bad enough. One that you can't get out of is worse. But the worst of all are the ones that don't feel like nightmares, they feel like reality. And losing someone in one of them creates a dark shallow emptiness inside you that's practically impossible to get rid of, and in Tony's experience, impossible to sleep with. It pained him to know the kid was going through it too. 

_"Thanks,"_ Peter said quietly. _"And Tony? I just...I...want you to know-"_

"I know kid. Me too," Tony said with a small smile. There was silence and then Tony said, "So that meant we both like waffles right?"

 _"Shut up, I'm hanging up on you,"_ Peter groaned. 

"Do it, see if I care," Tony sneered. Suddenly Peter went quiet and Tony's eyes widened after a couple of times calling the kids name and getting no answer, "I didn't think he would do it-"

 _"So you do care,"_ Peter laughed. 

"Go to bed," Tony demanded. 

_"I'll see you tomorrow Tony,"_ Peter said, his tone relaxed.

"You know, I think you should tell the security guard your secret identity," Tony suggested. 

_"What?"_ Peter asked with a snicker, _"Why?"_

"Well I mean, you're on a roll. Two people in a day, you could have the whole city of Queens in a month or so," Tony teased. 

Peter scowled, _"That's enough from you. Low blow."_

"Get some sleep kiddo," Tony grinned. 

_"Touche,"_ Peter said back and Tony hung up the phone.

He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. He put a hand on his hair and got out of his seat, putting his hands on his knees as he stood. "You know, I'm gonna go catch some z's."

 _"And this has nothing to do with your conversation just now,"_ FRIDAY asked. 

"Absolutely not," Tony said, realizing he had blinked and made a face when he lied. "Darnit the kid was right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK NOW I HAVE ENERGY. Hellooooo I hope you liked that! Tell me what you thought, what you hope to see etc. I love hearing from you guys <3 :) Earlier I said 2 more chapters, meaning next one would be last one....i lied. Next one is second to last one and there's more action in the next one, some protective irondad and spiderson and a very happy occasion :)  
> Then we will do a time jump to close everything off.  
> So I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned! 5 days and then new chapter! Hopefully sooner- I will do my best. What are yall doing to not go crazy? CUZZZ I HAVENT HAD SUCCESS WITH ANYTHING. EXCEPT! I'm rewatching my favorite show- Supernatural, so go watch that if you haven't. Top notch highly recommend, im slightly addicted.  
> Anyway I'm rambling now, thank you all so much for your support and comments, it means the world to me and I really appreciate it!  
> I LOVE YOU ALL 3000 STAY HEALTHY PLEASE <3


	27. Code Words and Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo lovely readers <3 <3 I kind of went overboard with this one, hope you don't mind, although I did know that it would be a long one. Probs longest yet. I hope you all like it, I really loved writing it lol  
> I am officially starting to go insane with this whole quarantine thing, especially when a teacher says we have a project due monday that everyone just assumed that we didn't need to do.  
> Anyway I went full fluff on the ending lol I hope you don't mind. But stillll in character in this crazy hectic journey. Next chapter will give us a recap of how far they've come and as an author I am so proud of Peter i gotta say. It's like watching a kid grow up. *tear* Also I thought I deleted this entire chapter and almost dropped my computer. BUT WE GOOD! So yay! I hope you all are doing well and staying healthy. Enjoy this rollercoaster ride, I love all of you, thank you so much for reading, and thank you so so so much for all your support. It has meant the world and omg!!! 14k hits that's insane!!! THANK YOU ALL <3  
> Ok, I'll shut up haha enjoy!!!

Peter swung into the kitchen, sliding to a stop by the kitchen table. May's eyes flicked to the web as Peter dropped it with a sheepish grin. "No webs in the house," she tisked. 

Peter grinned, leaning against the counter, "Sorry. Can't help it."

May smiled, shaking her head before she ruffled his hair. "Ok, I have a normal shift today. After school you've got...patrol," she shot him a look.

"I know the rules. I know," he assured her, catching the apple she tossed to him and taking a bite from the plate of toast they were sharing. "And then I'm going to the compound."

"I'm driving you, right?" May asked, grabbing her purse.

"Yeah, that would be nice," Peter grinned, swallowing half a piece of bread in one bite. 

"Slow down," she chided with a laugh. "You got your suit? And phone?"

Peter nodded, pointing over his shoulder to his backpack. "Yeah, all in there."

"School wise," she said firmly, resting her arms on the table. "Any tests? Homework?"

"All taken care of. May, when I get bad grades, that's when you can worry," he grinned. 

She put up her hands in surrender, "Ok, ok. Hey, what about that field trip. Tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be boring. I'm not thrilled. Oh shoot- that permission slip is due today, hold on, I think it's in my room-" Peter jogged to his room, leaning in. His eyes scanned his desk, one hand grasping his doorway before his gaze fell on the paper. He webbed it and ran back to the kitchen, setting it down. May took out a pen and raised an eyebrow.

"You need to clean your room. It's a wonder you even found this." She pointed at the paper, "Your desk looks like a tornado came through."

"It's not messy, it's creatively organized," Peter countered with a smirk. 

"Tony says that doesn't he?" May sighs. 

Peter looks up, trying to hide a smile. "No," he lies.

May finishes signing the paper and hands it back to him before snatching it away. She teases, "Tell Tony that aunt logic trumps his logic, ok?"

"Ehhh-" Peter's hand shot out with unreal speed and he grinned, folding up the paper and shoving it in his pocket. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't- I'm kidding. I'm kidding."

May smiled and turned before she looked at her watch and called over her shoulder, "I would get going. You're late."

"I'll make it," he grinned. 

"Oh, and how's MJ?" May wiggled an eyebrow. 

"She's...good. I texted her but we didn't really talk about us. It was more normal- which is good because it's not awkward right?" Peter scratched his head, "I don't know. I see her today though," Peter said confidently. 

"I want to hear every detail later," she pointed at him. 

"Deal," Peter laughed.

May gave another shake of her head before she looked over at the clock again. "Alright Pete, go- you're gonna make me late. Love you. Have a good day!"

"Love you too!" he webbed his backpack with a cocky smile as he sprinted to the door, grabbing his keys and spinning. 

"Hey!" she called him back. "Patrol tonight? Safe. Take it easy. I don't want anything too crazy, you got it?"

"May, come on, I'll be good," he assured her. "I'm Spiderman."

"Son of a-" Peter shook the dizziness out of his head as he avoided the second punch, still reeling from the first one that had landed across his jaw. "You know," he sighed as he dodged a swing and kicked the burglar in the back, "I was supposed to take it easy tonight." 

Peter set off the alarm in the store and and flipped out the window they had broken. He grabbed one of the newspaper holders and swung it, slamming it into the man's chest as he leveled his gun. "You know, I was having a really good day. No- you know what, I'm still going to have a good day. I'm not about to let you baddies ruin it, just saying."

Peter flipped up, twisting midair and webbing the gun that was pointed at his back. He sprinted forward and swerved to the side, a fist flying past his face. Peter caught the guy's wrists and sighed. "I got to talk to the girl I liked, right, and guess what?" He elbowed the man across the face and let him drop. "She likes me back! Crazy, right?"

Someone ran at him from behind and Peter flipped him over his shoulder, slamming the man into the ground before swiping his partner's feet out from underneath him. "So we hung out today," he said casually, webbing the handle of the door and yanking it. It hit the man in the back, sending him sprawling to the pavement, "and tomorrow we're gonna hang out for the entire day, which is cool, because obviously I want to spend time with her. It may get a little weird though because I have this other friend-"

"Shut up," one of the men snarled, grasping for his gun. 

Peter kicked it out of his reach and grabbed his collar, shoving him up against the wall of the store, "Look dude, if you didn't want to hear about my love life, you probably shouldn't have robbed the store. I feel bad for your girlfriend, although you probably don't have one."

Peter webbed him to the wall before blindly shooting another web that caught the guy's foot as he tried to run away. Peter calmly pulled him back, deep in thought, "You know, if I just act normal, maybe everything will work out fine, right? We've been friends for a long time so it's not like things have changed now."

Peter bit his lip, seeing the man reach for the knife, "You really don't want to do that." He shot a web, trapping his arm against the ground and Peter webbed him up some more for good measure. He grinned and admired his work, "Well, looks like I'm done here. You all be good, don't worry, I called someone to come pick you up in a couple minutes. Make good choices."

Peter sprinted down the street and jumped, flinging himself in the air and swinging around the corner. "It's gonna be fine Peter. She didn't hate you today, it was just a little awkward, which is understandable. Now, she doesn't know anything outside the fact that you're Spiderman, so that could maybe be an issue. I'll tell her tomorrow. It will be fine. All good. But right now," Peter launched himself into the air, spiraling before he shot a web, grinning at the tug on his wrist as he swerved around buildings. 

"Right now, I've got somewhere to be. And with ten minutes to spare, Peter, you are on a roll," he complimented himself. A minute later he dropped into the alleyway, ripping the webs off his backpack and landing on one knee. He made sure no one was watching before he pulled off his suit and mask, shoving them in his bag. Then he grabbed his shirt and jeans and shoved those on before popping out his phone as he slung the backpack over his shoulders again. 

Peter walked out of the alley and crossed the street, walking down the road that still had a lot of people on it, even for this late at night. He adjusted the straps before holding up his phone and that's when something caught his eye. 

Peter's back tingled and he shoved his phone into his pocket, picking up his pace. Someone was following him. Peter turned the corner and then sprinted, diving into an alleyway and pressing his back up against the wall. The man whom he had seen in the reflection of his phone walked past and Peter silently stepped out behind him, grabbing his collar and shoving him up against the wall. 

"Who are you and why are you following me?" Peter demanded angrily, pinning the man to the brick with an arm against his throat. 

He felt movement behind him and Peter ducked, a fist swinging over his head. He jabbed his foot out and twisted away, putting up his fists. Three men closed in on him and Peter chuckles, "Guys, seriously. You don't want to do this."

"Oh yeah?" one of them snarled, "Why not?"

"Have it your way," Peter grinned. "I'll knock you out first. And then you."

Peter had been so set on the men in front of him, he didn't think to look behind him and something hit him hard in the back of the head. Seeing stars, Peter fell to his knees groaning in pain, feeling blood on his fingers when he pulled them away from the slice on the back of his skull.

"How did that not knock him out?" one of the men demanded. 

"I don't know, just get him."

Peter's backpack was wrestled off and he was hauled to his feet, his arms twisted behind him. Peter staggered, blinking white spots out of his vision as he groaned. "Good swing, whoever that was, good swing. Hard hit."

"This kid doesn't know when to stop, does he?"

A second later Peter felt knuckles collide with his jaw and he spit out blood, about to say another sarcastic comment when someone barked, "Enough."

"Yeah, _enough_ ," Peter mocked, grinning at the man who had punched him. He looked up and saw what looked like the leader, walking forward. "So, what, you all a gang?"

"You've got quite a mouth. What's your name kid?" the guy demanded. 

There was no way he was telling these guys his real name. Instead he said, "Anthony."

"Alright Anthony," the man crouched. "Look, I respect you. I respect that fire, that grit. So we're not gonna beat you too bad. Just money, any valuables, and phone and we'll be on our way."

"Like I believe that," Peter scoffed, licking blood from his lip. 

The man shrugged, "I guess you're just gonna have to trust me then."

Suddenly Peter's phone rang in his pocket and he sighed. Someone stepped forward and reached for it and Peter laughed nervously, "Woah, woah, buddy. Getting a little handsy there- I don't swing that way dude-"

That comment earned him a slug in the stomach and Peter buckled over, coughing, as the phone was yanked out. He caught sight of who was calling as the name flashed on his screen and his heart went to his throat. _**TONY**_

If Peter didn't answer that phone, Tony would kill him.

"Stop- wait- that's my dad," Peter blurted out, unable to think of anything else to say. All the men looked at him. Well...crap. Peter tried a weak smile, "Look, if you don't let me answer the phone-"

"Shut up," one of them snarled, hitting him across the jaw. 

Peter flicked hair out of his face as he straightened, yanked so he was facing front by the man who had the grip on his arms. "Look I don't want any trouble," he mumbled, keeping his head down. "You can beat the crap out of me, take the seventy six cents in my pocket, whatever, but I don't want to be involved in this and if I don't answer the phone I swear-"

"Let him answer the phone," one of the guys suggested with a shrug. "Who cares? My old man got all pissed whenever I didn't answer."

It continued ringing and Peter held his breath, looking back and forth between the men. Then the leader knelt in front of Peter and eyed him warily before he reached forward and gripped Peter's chin tightly. Feeling his skin bruising, Peter winced, struggling as he glared. The man stared at him for one long extra second before took out a gun and pressed the muzzle to his knee, making Peter flinch. "You want to run again?" he asked calmly.

"That would be nice, yeah," Peter said cockily, earning a slap before the man grabbed the phone from his buddy and shoved it against Peter's ear harshly. 

_"Hey kid. I know you're-"_

"Hey dad," Peter said quickly. He resisted a hard wince.

Tony stopped talking and Peter sucked in a breath. After a short period of silence, Tony cleared his throat and asked, _"Hey...uh, everything ok?"_

"Yeah, everything is great," Peter said slowly, eyeing the gun against his knee. "Why do you ask?"

After a short pause, Tony spoke slowly, _"Are you...drunk?"_

Peter chuckled, "No, I'm not- I'm not drunk. I'm just caught up with work at the moment."

 _"Oh. Oh. Anything I need to worry about?"_ Tony asked warily.

Peter looked around. Well yeah, he thought, but he said, "No. Same old. Same old."

 _"Alright,"_ Tony said firmly. _"I'll talk to you later then."_

"Bye," Peter said quickly and the man pulled the phone away and hung it up. 

Tony pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, blinking. "What the-"

Natasha came in and she set her coffee cup on the counter, raising her eyebrow at Tony who was frozen with his phone in his hand, his brow knit in thought. "What?"

"Now, was that so hard?" the man grinned.

"Bite me," Peter snarled before he kicked the man in the face and twisted out of the grip on his arms.

Can't use webs. Can't use webs Peter, you got this.

Peter slid under the guy's legs and kicked him in the back, blocking two strikes before driving his fist forward into his attackers stomach. Peter twisted, slamming his head against his knee before he flipped over someone and grabbed their ankle, knocking them to the ground. Peter turned, sprinting to the wall and scaling a good five feet without making it look like he was climbing.

He jumped off it, landing behind the two dudes and swung his fist, catching the man int he jaw as he turned and planted a kick into the other guy's lower leg, slamming his head into the brick. Peter dodged a punch and twisted the gun out of the man's grasp after hitting his arm against the wall to loosen his grip. Peter kneed him in the stomach before tossing him aside. He ducked a shot that hit the wall behind him and tackled the next man around the waist before he could fire again. 

"I told you guys," Peter said breathlessly, punching the man across the face before throwing his elbow back and twisting, shoving a palm into his chest and flipping the guy over his shoulder. "You didn't want to do this." 

There was only one guy left who was staring at the gun in the center of the alley, equal distance to both of them. 

"Go for it," Peter urged, spreading his hands. "I dare you."

The man took a step back. 

Peter grinned and waved before snapping, " _Boo_."

The man turned on his heel and sprinted around the corner and Peter picked up his phone which was surprisingly not broken. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and shook his head, walking out of the alley.

"I was having a _good_ day too," Peter grumbled, prodding a forming bruise on his jaw and rubbing the back of his head. "Probably have a concussion. May's gonna kill me."

A couple hours later Peter jogged up the steps to the lab and walked in, seeing Tony in the back corner. May hadn't killed him, instead, they had had a very nice conversation about MJ and the field trip on their way to Tony's. Peter was back in a good mood and he planned to keep it that way. Thoughts of the patrol were absent from his mind as he walked into the lab, but they were all Tony had been thinking about for the last couple hours. He couldn't quite piece it together why the kid had called him dad all of a sudden. Peter though, oblivious to this confusion, started off the conversation like he would any other. 

"Hey," Peter called. "I figured you would be in here. Anti-social freak."

Tony looked up at DUM-E. "Annoying teenager alert." Then grinned and winked at Peter, "Hey kid."

"We're supposed to be upstairs in five minutes. And we're not gonna be late, so you better hurry up. Do you need help?" Peter asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way across the room to see what Tony was working on. 

"No, no," Tony wiped his hands. "I think I'm good. You know, I'm not completely helpless without my sidekick."

"Sidekick," Peter snorted. 

"School good?" Tony asked before he raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Girl good?"

"Yes to both," Peter grinned. "We're sitting together on the bus tomorrow for the field trip. Which would be an accomplishment if we didn't already do that."

"Just no premarital hand holding," Tony teased as he walked by. 

Peter shoved his shoulder, "Shut up."

"Have it your way," Tony put his hands up in surrender as he turned off the lights. Peter caught up to him and then Tony sighed, "Ok. We've got to talk about it."

Peter looked at him in confusion, racking his brain for something that he might have done. "Oh God- Tony, if you're gonna start talking about relationships-"

"No!" Tony's eyes widened and he laughed, "No. No, no, no- Parker-"

"What then?" Peter spluttered. 

"Did you get drunk?" Tony demanded. 

Peter looked at him like he was crazy, "No, I didn't get drunk- why do you keep asking me- oh." It all came together. 

"You called me dad," Tony said with a raised eyebrow. 

Peter sighed and rolled his eyes, "I had a gun pointed at me."

Tony blinked. 

Peter took that as needing more explanation and he sighed again, "My phone rang, I was in the middle of something. I was already out of the suit so I couldn't exactly web them all up. So I said it was my dad and convinced them to let me answer cause' I knew you would freak out if I didn't. And then I took care of it. They never saw it coming." Tony blinked again. Peter crossed his arms, "Am I boring you?"

Tony snapped out of whatever trance he was in, and he pressed a hand to his temple with a wince, "We need to think of something for you to tell me whenever there's a freaking gun pointed at your head."

"Knee," Peter corrected.

"What?"

"It was pointed at my knee," Peter said helpfully. "He asked if I wanted to run again. I said it would be nice."

"And you need to stop taking after me in terms of your quips," Tony added, giving him a look. 

Peter smirked, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I didn't learn my sarcasm from you."

"You're right, I just like to take credit for your accomplishments," Tony waved his hand before he motioned his head down the hall. They started walking and Tony turned to him, "Seriously though. Codewords. Toss out some ideas."

"You're serious," Peter said flatly following him up the steps. 

"Yes, I'm serious," Tony spluttered. "I would like to know when there's a gun being held to you. And calling me _dad_ did not clue me in on that."

"Ok, fine," Peter rolled his eyes. 

"We'll think of one later," Tony said as he shook his head and pushed open the first door. "You're too slow."

"Oh, I'm too slow," Peter scoffed, closing it behind the two of them. 

"Look who it is," Clint called cheerfully, throwing darts at the board across the room. "Our favorite duo."

"What are we arguing about this time?" Wanda laughed. 

Peter and Tony exchanged glances before muttering, "Nothing." They flopped down on the couch and Steve tossed the football to Peter. 

"How are you doing kid?" he asked.

Peter opened his mouth but Tony cut in as he stood up and walked to the counter to get a glass of water, "Well he's not shot, so that's a start." 

Peter chucked the ball at his back but it was intercepted by Rhodey who grinned. Peter rolled his eyes, "I'm good. Patrol was eventful. School was good. We've got a field trip tomorrow. To MoMA."

"You sign the parent permission form?" Natasha whispered innocently to Tony who shot her a look. 

"Field trips," Clint sighed. "Those were fun."

"You were probably that one kid who always got lost," Wanda snickered. 

"No, I was the one who ate the space food ice cream crap that they sold in the stores. It was disgusting but I got money off of dares," Clint grinned. 

"Don't be proud of that," Nat sighed. 

"What about you Cap? They have field trips back in the time of the dinosaurs?" Sam grinned. 

"Buck, do you remember any? To be honest, I don't," Cap scratched his head. 

"I remember winning fights for you in school. The locations got blurred together," Bucky said innocently. 

Clint whooped as he went to pull the darts out of the center circle. Suddenly Vision came through the wall and he jumped, sending a dart shooting through Viz and embedding itself in the wall behind him. 

"Viz, we talked about this," Wanda said with a small smile. 

"It was easier. The door was open," Viz protested as he walked over to the couch, patting Clint on the shoulder. Barton scowled before he went over and yanked the dart out of the wall, shooting a guilty smile at Tony who narrowed his eyes. 

"Don't look at me, it's Pepper you're gonna have to worry about," Tony wiggled his eyebrows.

Peter snickered, "Nah, Clint, you're safe. You never miss. She's gonna think it's Steve. He never hits the board." Cap looked at him in mock hurt and everyone chuckled. 

"Ok, pizza is here," Sam announces, slipping his phone into his back pocket and hitting his friend on the shoulder. "Buck, help me go and bring it up."

"Why do I have to?" Bucky demands. 

"Because you're closest," Sam makes a face. "Deal with it."

"Can we kick him off the team?" Bucky asks genuinely as he walks out the door with Sam. 

"They argue more than you and Tony do," Natasha says to Steve with a chuckle, settling down in her chair. 

"Nu-uh. Me and the star-spangled idiot take the cake," Tony shakes his head. Cap shoots him a look to which Tony responds with a cocky smile, raising his can of pepsi. 

"You got a pepsi and didn't get me one?" Rhodey scoffs. 

"What am I supposed to be, some kind of mind reader?" Tony rolled his eyes, before he grabbed a can, shook it once and tossed it to Rhodey who gave him a look and cautiously opened the can, sipping the foam that started fizzing out. 

"I don't know, you two are pretty in sync, I've heard some _rough_ MIT stories," Natasha said, leaning back in her chair with a smirk. 

"Oh, no. We're not going there," Tony warned. 

Peter cut him off, suddenly interested, "I think we actually are though."

Rhodey laughed, "We flooded the entire basement floor once. It was due for remodeling and we hated the walls."

"Throw up green," Tony cut in. "Absolutely ridiculous. So I took the water hose, back when colleges had those in dorms, put it in the elevator and rode it all the way down to the basement level."

"And then I turned it on once he took the stairs back up," Rhodey chuckled, pointing at Tony. "He had already hacked through security systems and we had some of our friends distract the hall monitors for a good thirty minutes. And we never got caught."

"No sir," Tony whistled. 

"The more you know about a person," Cap laughed. 

Tony waved his hand, "Don't worry, I gave them a couple million dollar check years later. Anonymous donor."

"Such a philanthropist," Clint snickered. "It's a wonder you couldn't pick up Thor's hammer."

"Hey-" Tony pointed at him in mock offense, "None of us could. Not even Cap."

"It budged!" Cap corrected proudly. 

Tony snorted, "Oh, so you're not a god, does that mean you're a saint? Like one step down?" 

"Nat, did you try?" Wanda asked, smiling. 

Natasha kicked her feet up on the table with a proud grin, "Oh no. That was not a question I needed answered."

"I picked it up," Vision interrupted. He looked around. There was utter silence. Everyone stared at him, blinking.

Peter grinned and gave him a fist bump with a chuckle, breaking the awkward silence, "Good job Viz."

"I still don't get how it works. If you put it in an elevator, would it be able to go up? In all honesty. With the big guy off world, we can plan how to expose him next time," Tony spread his hands. 

"It could be a fingerprint thing," Clint suggested. 

"It's not a strength issue," Rhodey stated, laughing with Tony. "You remember you asked if I was on your team. I just represented pull!"

"What are you guys even talking about?" Peter finally blurted out. 

Everyone looked at him, about to answer before they all stopped. Then Tony took a sip of his pepsi and said simply, "Peter could probably pick it up."

Natasha sank back in her chair with a smile, "I second that."

"Pick up a hammer?" Peter snorted. "If you guys can't lift a hammer-"

"It's more than just a hammer," Natasha laughed. "Thor- god of thunder-"

"Point Break," Tony interjected helpfully.

Rhodey rolled his eyes before admitting, "He did have long flowey blonde hair. Don't know how. He must use some special shampoo or something-"

"Anyway," Clint rolled his eyes. "So Rhodes can stop fangirling. He has this hammer that apparently you can only pick up if you're 'worthy'. But we think it's just convenience. He embarassed the heck out of us a couple years back."

"But if we are going _worthy_ theory," Cap admitted, looking at Peter in thought. "I bet you could lift it, kid. Someone call Thor."

"It's not like he has a phone Steve. And there's no service off planet Earth," Tony rolled his eyes. 

"Pizza!" Sam and Bucky burst through the doors holding a massive of boxes in each hand. 

"What took you so long?" Tony joked, talking to Nat by the counter.

Sam glared at him as he set down the boxes on the table, "I swear to God."

Peter looked over and saw Tony was showing Nat the ring, Nat smiling before she gave Tony a hug. Tony then had a football thrown at him as Sam yelled for him to help spread the pizza's out across the table. 

Peter grinned, watching as Tony laughed and grabbed some boxes, laughing with the other Avengers. And then, Peter's smile dropped. Pepper had just walked in and was circling the counter. And of course....Tony and left the ring in the center, in plain sight. 

Peter gulped and looked around in a panic before he webbed the nearest chair he could, which happened to be right next to Rhodey, and sent it toppling. Rhodey saw him do it and looked at him in confusion. Pepper, who hadn't seen Peter's risky move, simply let out a light laugh and went to go help him pick it up. 

In a flash Peter was sliding across the floor and slamming into the counter, grabbing the box and shoving it across the marble, out of sight on the other side, before adding to the laughter like he had always been in the conversation. He rolled his eyes, "Come on Rhodey, you got to be more careful."

Rhodey scoffed, raising an eyebrow and huffing, "What are you talking about? You-"

"were just saying that Tony was looking for you Pepper?" Peter cut in, jabbing Rhodes in the ribs with his elbow subtly. "Tony's looking for you."

"Oh he is?" Pepper nodded, her gaze falling on Tony at the other end of the room. "Well I've got to get a drink first."

"No!" Peter said quickly, realizing she would see where the small box went if she looped around the counter. He struggled to save himself, giving her an awkward smile, "No- you...shouldn't...because..."

"Because I'm already here," Nat said cheerfully, cutting past Pepper and getting out a glass. She winked at Peter and grinned at her friend, "The host should never have to pour their own drink."

"Nat, you live here too," Pepper laughed, but she stayed on the side of the counter, leaning against it while tightening her ponytail. 

"It's the thought that counts," Nat smiled, handing Pepper a glass. "Now I think Peter is right, Rhodey did say Tony was looking for you."

Pepper raised an eyebrow, "Well that's a first. Usually I'm always looking for him."

Peter laughed before nodding, "Well there's a first time for everything. Right Rhodes?" Peter said casually, turning to Rhodey with a pointed gaze. 

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say," Rhodes said slowly, looking at both Peter and Nat with an odd expression. 

Pepper laughed nervously, "Ok? Are you ok Rhodey?"

"I'm a little confused, not gonna lie," Rhodey admitted and Peter grabbed his arm. 

"He is confused. So I'll go explain-" Peter pulled him around to the other end of the kitchen. He grabbed the box from the counter, Nat shielding him from view before he showed Rhodey and hissed, "Smooth man."

"Oh shoot is that-" Rhodey's eyes widened. 

"Yeah," Peter nodded. "So next time you see a chair fall over or something, do me a favor and take responsibility for it?"

"Yeah," Rhodey said quickly. 

"Thanks Nat," Peter grinned. 

She gave him a small shoulder bump, "I got your back Pete."

Peter grinned before going over to Tony when Pepper went to go grab something in the other room. He shoved Tony's shoulder, "Idiot."

"Woah," Tony turned with an eyebrow raise. "You can't call me an idiot when I haven't done anything yet." He took a sip of his pepsi. Peter glared at him and pulled out the ring. Tony choked on his drink and his hand went to his pocket, "Did she-"

"See it?" Peter asked sarcastically. "No. You're welcome."

The next day Peter got on the bus with MJ and Ned, making their way towards the middle of the bus. Flash pushed by him and Peter glared at him. 

"Watch it," Flash hissed.

Peter curled his fists, "You watch it." MJ put a hand on his arm, and Peter sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I don't want you getting another week of detention just cause you boys can't handle being in the same bus for a freaking hour," she rolled her eyes. Peter realized she was right and let her lead him to where Ned was sitting, taking a seat behind him.

Ned kicked up his feet on the window and grinned, "All to myself. While you both are cramped."

Peter stood up and looked over the edge, crossing his arms across the seat and rolling his eyes. MJ joined him, whacking Ned's foot off the window, "Is this your bus? No."

Ned sighed and twisted in his seat, "You think this trip is gonna be fun?"

"The actual trip will be mildly interesting," MJ admitted before she shoved Peter's shoulder, "But when has something ever been boring with Spiderman here?"

Peter grinned, blushing, "Hey, keep your voice down." 

"You know if we told anyone they wouldn't believe us right? Or you for that matter," MJ snickered. 

"Hey," Peter laughed. 

"It's ok. Because we believe you," Ned said helpfully and MJ nodded innocently. 

"I hate both of you," Peter shook his head with a smile, pointing at MJ, "Especially you."

"Oh yeah," she nodded with a smirk.

Peter grinned. He had a plan. A flawless, perfect plan. Ned was going to leave them alone for about one hour and Peter and MJ would break off from the group, seeing whatever exhibits they wanted. And then after they would go to the cafe and-

Peter's phone buzzed. He sighed, snapping out of his thoughts before he dug it out of his pocket. _**TONY**_

With a frown, he clicked it open and answered, "Hey, what-"

_"Peter, listen to me. Are you on Queensboro Bridge yet?"_

Peter looked out the window. The bridge was a couple blocks down and they were stuck in traffic. He shook his head, "No we're not there yet, why?"

_"Do you have your suit?"_

Peter let out a nervous chuckle, "Tony, what's going on?"

"Is that Tony Stark?" Ned whispered, scrambling to see. 

Peter put a hand to his other ear, "Tony, what-"

 _"Peter, answer the question, do you have your suit?"_ Tony yelled. 

"Yes! Yes, in my backpack, why? Is something wrong?" Peter said nervously, well aware of both MJ and Ned staring at him in shock.

_"I don't know what it is, but something's coming. It's already killed people, it's just tearing up the street, not caring about civilians. I don't know what it wants. It's some guy in a suit and he's heading your way."_

"What do I do?" Peter asked in a panic.

_"Get your suit on, now. You protect your friends and that is it, you hear me? Do not go fighting this guy until I get there, do you understand?"_

"Ok, ok," Peter blinked, grabbing his backpack. "Be careful."

_"Yeah."_

Tony hung up and Peter looked around at all the kids on their phones with headphones in. He grabbed the suit and looked over at his friend, "Ned, I need you to cause a distraction."

Ned's eyes widened and he raced to the front of the bus. "Holy crap- what is that! We're all gonna die!"

Peter smirked, "Wow, he's a pretty good actor." He yanked off his sweatshirt. 

MJ was staring ahead and she grabbed his shoulder, "Peter, he wasn't acting."

Peter grabbed the seat and pulled himself up to peak over, looking out the nearest window. "Holy- ok MJ, this is what you're gonna do-" He yanked off his shirt before he froze, realizing he just- 

MJ was staring at him and Peter stuttered, "Uh- I-"

"I'll just," MJ moved to the seat in front of him and Peter screamed silently, cursing himself for being so stupid. He shoved off his pants and slipped the suit on, shoving his stuff into his backpack before he put on the mask. 

MJ turned around as Peter stepped out in the center isle. "Ok, just stay here, I'm gonna-" then his eyes focused and he cursed, grabbing her arm and pulling her down the isle. Peter yelled over his shoulder, "EVERYBODY OFF THE BUS!"

Peter kicked off the door of the back of the bus and webbed MJ's back. She yelped as pulled her, catching her as she fell off. He set her down, shoving his phone into his suit pocket and yelled, "NOW! GO! GO! GO!"

Everyone spun and screamed, jumping out and running down the street screaming. MJ grabbed his arm as they all looked up as some...thing...landed on the top, crushing the metal. Screams and car sirens echoed in Peter's ears but the voice cut through it all.

"Hello, Spiderman," the man seethed. He was covered in green armor, with red lenses on his eyes, a long tail flicking back and forth behind him. 

"Get out of here, go!" Peter yelled to everyone as they started joining the mob of fleeing people. Only Ned and MJ stayed by his side as the man walked along the top of the bus until he was towering over them. 

"Halloween isn't for a while buddy!" Peter yelled, shooting a web at the man's face and yanking him sideways off the bus. Peter quipped, "I'm gonna call you Scorps, that ok?"

"Aw, we can both have nicknames for each other webs," The man snapped back, his tail shooting out, barely missing Peter's neck. Peter flipped, slamming his knee into the dude's chest before he climbed onto his back. 

The Scorpion flipped with incredible agility, grabbing Peter's ankles to keep him in place, slamming him so hard into the pavement that it cracked. Peter groaned before he was suddenly pinned to the ground, the tail digging into his chest. 

"Stay out of my way Spiderman, last chance," the man warned. 

Peter tried to ignore the sting from the tip of the tail that was slicing through his suit. "I'm not really one to follow rules."

"Have it your way," the man snarled, slashing his tail across his chest, digging the tip into Peter's skin. A long thin line ripped through Peter's suit, and he screamed in pain, struggling as blood soaked the fabric. 

"Get away from him!" Ned sprayed the fire extinguisher from their school bus into Scorpion's face and MJ swung a piece of metal that had fallen off the emergency door, hitting the man in the head. He hissed and Peter twisted am arm free, punching him across the face before he kicked him in the chest, stumbling backwards. 

MJ and Ned caught either of his arms and Peter groaned, prodding the long cut across his chest that was leaking green goo. "What the-"

"Pete, you good?" Ned whispered. 

"Yeah," Peter said, "Never better. Get out of here, now. It's not safe."

He looked up and ran forward, shooting two webs that pinned the Scorpion's hands to the cars he had been tossed into.

"PETER!" MJ screamed furiously before she clapped a hand over her own mouth in shock. Thank God no one heard her.

Peter landed on Scorpion's chest and punched him hard in the face, forcing him deeper into the hoods of the cars, "What is this?" Peter demanded, pointing to the green goo dripping down his suit, that was no doubt already in his bloodstream. "Poison?"

"You'll see soon enough, but first, you've got to make a choice," the Scorpion smiled. 

Peter curled his fist, ready to punch again when he heard Ned's scream. MJ yelled as the tail wrapped around her wait. 

"MJ!" Peter shouted before turning around and readying his fist. His vision went red and Peter snarled, "Let her go. I said LET HER GO!"

"Sweeten the deal spidey, then maybe," the Scorpion seethed, clearly not afraid of him. MJ cried out in pain and Peter let out a yell of fury, ripping the webs that held the Scorpion. The man sat up, grinning, "That's better."

Peter furiously jumped off him and rolled, standing to catch MJ as Scorps let her drop. She fell into his arms and Peter bent his knees, setting her down lightly, giving her a tight hug, brushing hair out of her face.

"Are you ok, are you ok?" Peter said worriedly. 

MJ's eyes were wide and she nodded, "What _is_ that thing- yeah, I'm ok- no- Peter!"

Peter's hairs stood up a second before MJ screamed and he quickly pushed her aside into Ned. He only turned when he knew they had staggered backward our of harms way. That’s when Peter twisted, avoiding the tail as he dove forward, tackling the Scorpion midair. He held on and shot a web with one hand, yanking him towards the street. They rolled into traffic, knocking over cars and Peter's head slammed into the ground. Seeing stars, Peter groaned, the concussion from the other day not helping his case. Peter caught both of the arms that tried to punch him across the face but couldn't stop the tail in time. 

It looped around his neck, choking him and Peter clawed at it, kicking his legs on the ground, desperate to breathe. 

Suddenly his phone rang and Peter twisted as the Scorpion reached a clawed hand in his pocket and slid it out. "Tony," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe I should answer."

"You touch him and I swear to God I will kill you, you understand me?" Peter swore, grunting with effort. He was pulled to his feet by the metal armor looped around his neck that was slowly choking him. 

"Tony, Tony Stark?" the Scorpion asked Peter who did nothing but struggle. He clicked the answer button.

_"Kid! I'm almost there. Where are you?"_

Scorpion tisked, "Yeah, the _kid_ can't talk at the moment. But I am very excited to meet you. Meanwhile, spider and I will have a little chat."

Tony's voice was ice cold, _"Where is he?"_

"Well he's right here," Scorpion laughed. "Say hi Spiderman."

"Tony don't- I'll be fine-" Peter wheezed, struggling to free himself.

Scorpion laughed as he jumped onto the nearest building, dragging Peter up with him. "Well I don't know if he's going to be fine. He doesn't sound fine." He forced Peter against the wall, pushing on his chest and Peter let out a scream. 

_"Stop!"_ Tony yelled and Peter let out a gasp, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to push against the wall to relieve the pressure around his throat. _"If he is not in one piece when I get there, I will rip you limb from limb, do you understand me? Don't touch him you son of a-"_

"He seems nice," Scorpion said, letting Peter's phone drop the length of the building. Peter winced as he heard it shatter on the ground below after a couple seconds. "Can't wait to meet him."

"Screw you," Peter coughed, shooting a web at the Scorpion's face. The man snarled, clawing it off before he slammed his head into the building. Dazed and in pain, Peter's head slumped, his arms dropping to his sides as the Scorpion broke through the window of the building that was currently under construction, before dropping down to the ground and waiting. 

Tony hit the ground running. The last signal he got from Peter's phone was a ping by the school bus. When he got there he searched the thing but the kid was nowhere to be seen. Tony couldn't breathe. He spun in a circle, looking at the dented cars and starting forward when he heard screaming. 

"Mr. Stark!"

Tony turned and saw two teens running forward. 

"Ned?" Tony guessed, remembering the kid from the facetime call. He looked at the girl who was breathless, holding her ribs, but her eyes were nothing but fury. "MJ," he added next. So this was MJ. 

"Yes," they both said hurriedly. 

"Where is he?" Tony demanded. 

"They won't let us through," MJ said furiously, pointing to a building under construction on the far end of the street. Some cop cars circled around the corner and took positions outside of it. "You have to get him. He has Peter."

"I know, I know," Tony said firmly, firing up his boosters. 

"No, let us help!" MJ yelled, her and Ned starting forward. 

"If you want to help Peter, keep each other safe. Trust me," Tony said with a small smile. "He doesn't want anything to happen to either of you."

"Mr. Stark, sir," Ned said firmly. "Save him."

"He's hurt," MJ whispered. "That thing is gonna kill him."

"I'll get him. He's not dying on my watch, I promise," Tony assured them, giving them each a smile before he blasted towards the building, breaking through the doors and landing in the center of the room. 

"Alright I'm here!" he shouted, turning in a slow circle, scanning the room he was in. "Where is he?"

"Tony Stark. You know, I've always wanted to meet you."

Tony spun and saw a man crouched on the ground, just barely visible behind a wall. His green suit was practically glowing, plated armor covering his body. Red lenses masked his eyes but the man's grin was visible. 

"And who are you?" Tony asked.

"Scorpion," the man hissed. 

Tony sighed, "Really? That's what it says on your birth certificate? Your parents must have hated you-"

"MacDonald," the man twirled his hand, "MacDonald Gargan."

Tony smirked, the helmet receding to his neck. He casually paced before asking innocently, "Do you have a farm?"

"Careful Tony," the man warned and he stepped out from behind the pillar, revealing a long swirling green armored tail that was curled at the end- Peter. Tony's heart stopped and his lungs tightened. The kid was choking, the metal wrapped around his throat. He was dragged forward, the tail lifting him off the ground.

"E-I-E-I-O," Peter croaked. "Hey Tones."

"Pete-" Tony whispered. Then FRIDAY turned his external mic back on and Tony called nervously, "Kid? You ok?" He tried to keep his voice from shaking. There was a long slash across Peter's chest. The kid wasn't bleeding, unless he bled green blood, and Tony was sure he didn't. It must be some sort of poison...and Tony didn't want to think of what it was doing to him. 

Peter's lenses widened as his feet skimmed the floor, the kid struggling to breathe. Tony relaxed when he heard Peter's voice, "Never better. Hey, check the Mets."

Tony looked down and saw a newspaper on the ground from the explosions and he bent to pick it up, shuffling through it. He locked eyes with Peter, "Page twenty eight?"

"Twenty seven I'm pretty sure-" Peter corrected before he was cut short. The kid gripped the metal tail that tightened around his throat, kicking his legs as his face contorted into that of pain and he wheezed, gasping. 

"Hey- hey-" Tony dropped the paper and took a step forward, "Let him go."

"Sure, sure, and then we'll all go out for a nice cup of tea, right?" Gargan spat. 

"I'm not British. Kid, you British?" Tony asked, not taking his eyes off the red lenses. 

"Don't think so," Peter coughed out, still struggling to breathe. 

"Look, I either blast that tail right off your body or you at least let his feet touch the floor," Tony demanded, raising his palm. 

_"Eighty seconds sir,"_ FRIDAY said firmly. 

A sick smile appeared on Gargan's face. "You could hurt him," he taunted.

"Yeah, but it will hurt you a lot more. I've thrown him off a plane," Tony admitted. 

"He has," Peter gasped, clawing at the metal and groaning weakly. A second later he was lowered and Peter breathed a sigh of relief, his hands still clenched around the metal encircling his throat.

"What do you want?" Tony shouted. 

"Your head, his head, on a stick," Gargan snarled. 

Peter scoffed, "Nice, man."

Tony made a face, "Well that's not pleasant. Also kind of illegal. I guess you'll have to make do. How about you put the kid down, we talk about this, throw a few punches just for the fun of it, and you get by on a life sentence? Sound good? There may be bars on the room though-"

MacDonald snarled and Peter choked as the tail encircled his throat some more as he was pulled closer. The man walked towards Tony, each step cracking the concrete. "Oh yeah, that would be great," he slurred.

"Well don't get too excited, you might pull something," Tony said slowly, his helmet closing over his head. 

Gargan nodded innocently before hissing, "I would tone it down on the sarcasm if I were you. It's getting a little hard for the kid here to breathe." 

Tony flicked his gaze over to Peter who scoffed and struggled some more. He still managed a laugh, "Oh, are you having fun yet Mr. Bug man? Keep going Tony, I'm enjoying the show."

Gargan turned to him with a raised fist as Peter was yanked forward and Tony quickly interjected, "Why haven't you killed him yet then? Are you a coward?"

Peter twisted to look at him, his lenses widening, "What is wrong with you?"

_"Twenty seconds."_

"You want a fight, don't you?" Tony asked with a shrug. "You want the upper hand, and then you want an old fashioned show down," he urged, stepping forward. "You're holding all the cards, but that's not fun for you, that's not a challenge. You're reckless. You like a good fight. So how about we speed this up and you drop him, huh? Make up your mind, cause' I'm," Tony laughed, "I'm really getting mixed signals here farmer."

_"Perfect timing sir."_

A suit blasted through the window and slammed into the Scorpion's tail. The armor wrapped itself around the metal and pulsed. Peter pushed as hard as he could, slipping out from the tail encircling his throat. He hit the ground coughing before he webbed the wall in front of him and flung himself forward. He fell into Tony's chest who grabbed his arms, helping him skid to a stop in a forced hug.

"You ok?" Tony said firmly as he looked him over for any serious injuries. His hand clasped Peter's neck and his gaze found the long green slice on his chest. "What's the green crap?"

"Did you just dare him to kill me?" Peter asked, rubbing his throat and coughing.

"I had to stall," Tony smirked, patting him on the shoulder. "You know I wouldn't let that happen." Both the smiles fell from their faces as the Scorpion tore Tony's suit in half and turned on them with a yell of anger, throwing both pieces aside. 

"Don't worry, that was just a prototype," Tony said lightly. 

"You just saying that to make yourself feel better?" Peter said weakly. 

"Of course not. You take left. I got right," Tony said firmly, firing up his blasters. 

"Don't get ripped in half," Peter quipped, swinging up to the ceiling. 

"Thanks for the pep talk kid," Tony scoffed. 

"Yeah, anytime," Peter said, swinging along the ceiling as the Scorpion watched them both. He narrowed his eyes before he looked down at his chest with a wince. He wiped away another glob of venom, blood smearing his suit from the long thin slice. "As for this green gooey venom stuff, it just stings. I'm probably immune or something."

 _"Well that's good,"_ Tony said. _"Stay where you are. I'm gonna see how much this bad boy can take."_

"Show off, go ahead," Peter sighed. 

Missiles came from Tony's back and fired. The Scorpion covered his head and crouched and Peter winced as the first blast hit. A white light filled his gaze and he looked away for a couple seconds. Heat waves rippled off and the structure rattled. Peter tightened his grip as he heard a wail of pain, explosions shaking the ground. Fire billowed below them and smoke clouded Peter's view and he waved his hand coughing. This did not help his breathing problem. Then he narrowed his eyes and put a hand to his ear after a second of gazing through the blasts, "Uh, Tony?"

_"Yep."_

"He's gone."

 _"He's not gone,"_ Tony scoffed, continuing to fire. 

"Yeah, well I can't see him," Peter said firmly, swinging along the ceiling as the explosions slowed to a stop. When the smoke cleared, Peter was right. The ground was caved and broken, fire crackling along the ground which was charred black. Damage was done. But there was no Scorpion.

 _"Maybe you're blind,"_ Tony suggested, the smoke still pretty thick from his view. 

Peter narrowed his eyes, tightening his crouch as he continued to search through the rubble. "Tony, I'm telling you, he's gone. Good job."

 _"Good job, how was I supposed to know he was Houdini?"_ Tony demanded. _"Until we know where he is, stay put."_

"Fat chance," Peter snorted, swinging along the ceiling and dropping to the ground in a crouch in the corner of the room. "If I was a evil dude dressed as a scorpion, where would I be?"

 _"Watch your six."_

"Yeah," Peter mumbled, creeping forward and looking around. Suddenly there was movement behind him and Peter lunged to the side, feeling the tip of the tail scratch his arm, ripping his suit. He tumbled to the ground, clasping his hand over the cut. With a wince he looked up and saw the Scorpion crouched on the other end of the room, the tip of his tail red with Peter's blood. 

"Jokes on you Mac," Peter snarled as he crouched, readying himself. "I'm immune to this stuff."

"Are you?" the man asked innocently, his red lenses darkening. 

"Tony I've got him-" Peter said, not taking his eyes off of the Scorpion. "Tony?" Peter blinked and jumped, "What the-" He was gone. Peter, pushing aside the fact that there was no way his enemy could have moved that fast, rushed forward and spun in a circle, scanning for Mac. He looked down to the other end of the building where Tony was and suddenly couldn't move, paralyzed with fear. 

His vision tunneled and Peter wrestled a scream out of his closing throat, "TONY!"

The Scorpion dropped down behind the Iron Man suit as Tony spun to find Peter's voice. He couldn't move fast enough. The metal tail plunged into Tony's back, sinking through his armor and puncturing straight through his chest. Even from where he was he could hear the awful noise it made, and the even worse noise that came from Tony's mouth as he screamed.

"NO!" Peter yelled, his voice breaking as he staggered forward, the air seemingly yanked from his lungs.

He watched in helpless shock as Gargan tossed Tony aside like he weighed nothing and Peter felt physical pain, flinching with tears in his eyes. He tumbled and hit the ground, unmoving, his helmet cracked. The arc reactor shattered from the impact, it's light dying and Peter almost sank to his knees.

Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder and Peter jumped, rolling away with a scream, tears building in his eyes. His lungs tightened, aching, and his brain felt like it was going to explode. 

"Easy, kid," Tony chuckled. "It's just me- you said you found him?" Tony said, his helmet receding to his neck. "You're the one with the spider s- what?"

Peter straightened, his eyes widening as he stared at Tony in relief. Peter opened his mouth but nothing came out except, "What the h-" He spun to look at the other end of the building but it was empty. Fire licked the floors that were charred black and smoke clouded the air. There was no sign of Tony or the Scorpion where he had seen them. Peter whirled back to look at Tony, breathing hard. "I-"

Tony stepped forward and grabbed his arm as Peter's knees buckled under him. "Hey, kid, what the heck is going on?"

"The poison," Peter mumbled with a curse. "I guess I'm not immune after all. I saw you die," Peter shook his head, pressing his hands to his temples. "Ah-"

 _"You've been injected by a hallucinogenic neurotoxin Peter,"_ Karen reported. 

"That's just great," Peter sighed, grabbing Tony's arm and wincing at the headache starting to form. "How long until it wears off?"

_"I'm not sure. If you don't get hit again, I'd say ten minutes."_

"Ten minutes," Peter said confidently. "I can last ten minutes."

"No. You need to sit out Pete. If you don't know what's real or not-" Tony said firmly, still scanning around them. 

"Tony I haven't known what is real my entire life," Peter snapped instantly. "Why be afraid of it now? I can handle this. It's just nightmares, that's all it is."

"Yeah, but now they're happening when you're awake," Tony hissed. 

"I'm not leaving!" Peter yelled. Tony's expression relaxed and Peter shook his head, breathing hard. "I've seen you die more than I ever need to. You are not fighting this guy alone. End of story."

Tony closed the helmet, the eyes glowing and he nodded. "FRIDAY, scan the perimeter."

_"Movement in the far left quadrant."_

"Keep your distance," Tony instructed. "Web em up. And Pete," his tone sobered as Peter looked up at him. "Whatever you see...it's not real."

Peter nodded firmly before he shot a web at the ceiling, ignoring the sting in his arms. Just then, the hairs on his arms stood up and Peter tensed, looking to the side. The Scorpion climbed the wall, slamming his fists through it before he shoved himself off, diving for Peter midair. 

Peter easily swerved and stuck himself to the ceiling as Tony did a loop and fired, _"Pick on someone your own size Scorps!"_

"Watch it-" Peter yelped as Tony ducked midair to avoid a glob of venom that splattered the wall behind him. Peter turned his angry gaze on his enemy and muttered, "I'm coming for you Mac."

 _"Did he just spit at me?"_ Tony asked in disgust.

Peter was analyzing his armor, "I think it came from his suit!" It looked like he had projectile venom as well as the poison on his tail. There wasn't much of it left, and Peter knew he couldn't just stop for gas and fill up his tank. 

Peter jumped out of the way and swung down, Tony firing a beam that hit Scorpion in the chest. As the man staggered Peter slid to the floor and swiped his feet out from under him, webbing one of his arms to the ground. He did a flip as the tail passed under him before Tony jumped in front and caught the metal tail that came back for a second swipe before it could hit him. Peter relaxed, letting out a breath as Tony stood his ground, his hands making a dent in the armor. 

"Always have to save your-"

"Shut up Tony," Peter scowled, sliding under his legs and taking a running leap, shooting a web at the tail and looping around the Scorpion who was on one knee, successfully cocooning him. The third time around Mac got his tail free from Tony's grip and sliced through Peter's webs. Peter was hit across the chest by Gargan's arm and he went flying, hitting the far wall and landing on his hands and knees. 

_"Pete-"_ Tony yelled through their coms. Then he turned to Gargan in fury and hissed, "You'll die for that."

"I'm good," Peter assured him, staggering before he came face to face with Hersh. The man's eyes bore into Peter who's heart stopped beating for a short second. He yelped and fell backward, kicking a heel out, terrified as his foot actually made contact. Hersh's jaw snapped to the side before he brought it back with an unsettling smile plastered to his face. He was covered in dirt and dust, webs hanging off of his coat. There was blood on his face and Peter backed up until he hit the wall, shaking.

"Hey Pete, miss me?" the man snarled, storming forward. 

_"Snap out of it kid!"_

Peter blinked and Hersh was gone. He whirled around, breathing hard before scrambling to his feet. Peter tensed and moved to the side, narrowly avoiding a glob of venom that slammed into the wall where he had been standing. Peter lunged forward, shaking his head to clear the dizziness as he swung to help Tony who was hovering midair, dodging swipes from the scorpion's tail. 

Peter tucked his legs in and swung by, slamming a fist across Mac's face before Tony dove down, forcing the Scorpion into the ground and putting out both hands, beams burning into the suit's metal. 

Peter vaulted over his back and kicked Gargan in the face before grabbing both of his arms and yanking them back as the man thrashed. 

"Tony the tail-" Peter groaned, letting go of one of Mac's hands to shoot a web, trapping the Scorpion's tail against the ground. Suddenly Mac grabbed his wrist and Peter braced as he was yanked forward, jumping with the pull so his shoulder didn't dislocate. He hit the ground tumbling and Scorpion ripped free of the webs, smacking Tony in the chest and sending him crashing to the ground on the other end of the building. 

Peter staggered to his feet in rage, "I'm gonna kill you." Mac shook off the webs and crouched, his tail quivering behind him, waving menacingly. Peter watched his every move carefully and he took a step forward. 

"Is that so spider?" Gargan taunted. "You even sure what you're seeing is real?"

"You stay away from him you son of a-" The Scorpion lunged for him but was suddenly tackled midair by Tony, and in a blur of red and green they tumbled to the ground. Tony fired up his thrusters and spun, kicking him in the chest, sending Mac flying into a wall. "Nice one Scorps. You know you beat people by cheating, right?" Tony called.

Peter dropped to the ground, shaking his head to clear the white spots that were threatening to devour his vision. "You ok Tony?"

"Never better," came the breathless response. 

Scorpion spread his hands, "it's not cheating if you win."

Peter sighed, breathing hard, "Your logic is so flawed."

"Says the boy who can barely tell what is real," Mac cackled. "I'm going to kill you spider, slowly-"

"Try it and you'll be dead before you even hit the ground," Tony swore in anger, stepping forward. 

"I'll take my chances," Scorpion hissed, lunging forward. 

Tony shot a beam, giving Peter cover as he slid to the ground, webbing the back of Scorpion's leg and twisting it. He got to his feet and jumped forward, slamming his fist into Gargan's head before jumping onto his back. Tony was in front of him and he sent a beam right in the center of the green suit and Mac howled in pain.

Peter locked his arms around Mac's neck and groaned, "This is gonna hurt. Tony!" He flipped, bringing the Scorpion with him, and slammed him hard into the ground, cracking the concrete as Tony sidestepped out of the way. The Scorpion got up slowly, fuming.

"I will rip you limb from limb," he spit.

"Yeah not on my watch Mac," Tony grinned. " _Peter drop!_ "

Peter acted instantly, and a massive beam fired over his head and hit Mac in the chest, blasting him backward into the wall. Peter got to his feet, grinning beneath his mask.

Then he blinked and his heart lept in his chest. "Surprise Peter," Caine snarled, shoving him in the chest. Peter stumbled, his eyes wide as he continued walking backward, his lungs closing. A knot thickened in his stomach and he suddenly couldn't breathe. 

"Kid-" Tony shot one more blast to stall Gargan before he ran for Peter, seemingly stepping in front of Caine and grabbing Peter's arms, "Hey- it's not real."

Caine snarled at Tony, punching Peter across the face. Peter jerked in Tony's arms, tasting blood and he straightened only to get punched again. Peter's eyes widened and he wrenched away and fell, putting his hands up to shield himself. 

"You're gone- you're in the Raft-" Peter swore as Caine towered over him, kicking him in the ribs. "This isn't real!" Peter shouted. 

Tony spun and saw Scorpion charging and he dove to the ground, slipping an arm across Peter's chest before he let loose a beam, firing up his boots. He and Peter blasted backward and Tony's back slammed into the wall, Peter against his chest. He groaned and tightened his grip, helping the kid to his feet before his helmet receded to his neck and he stared Peter dead in the eyes. 

"Look at me kid, look at me!" Tony shouted, getting Peter's attention. He shook his head, "He's gone. Caine is in the Raft. I promise you. Look at me kid, work with me here, he's not real." Tony lowered his voice, "Come on Pete, look at me. It’s not real."

Peter stared at him in confusion before he nodded, checking over Tony's shoulders. Sure enough, there was no one to be seen. 

"It’s real to him Stark," Mac taunted. 

"Son of-" Tony hissed in fury.

"You know you've only got a little bit more of that stuff in your tail," Peter warned him weakly. Tony's arm was thrown across Peter's chest, shielding him, his other palm out, a blast heating up in the center.

"It's enough. I like to torture my victims before I kill them," Gargan spat.

"Psychopath," Peter commented, turning with Tony as Mac started circling them. "You should have killed me when you had the chance Mac."

"It's more fun this way," Gargan grinned, his clawed hands cracking the pavement. 

"You're a sick puppy," Tony scoffed.

Peter grinned, "Fun? Well in that case Mac, are you having fun yet-"

"P-Peter?"

Peter whirled and froze, staring at the person writhing on the ground, their torso covered in blood. Their eyes pleaded with him, "Peter- help me-"

"M-Miles-" Peter whispered. His best friend was laying on the ground, his arm bent in the wrong direction, blood pooling around his chest. Some trickled from his mouth as Miles coughed, lifting a shaking hand towards him.

"Peter no-" Tony warned, grabbing his shoulder and that's when Gargan lunged.

Miles dissapeared the minute Peter saw Tony had turned his back on the enemy. Something clicked, and Peter could see normally again, his eyesight sharpening. He didn’t care about himself, or Miles, or anyone- he cared about the person who would turn his back on an enemy to put a hand on his shoulder. With tears in his eyes, Peter furiously grit his teeth as he pushed Tony aside and dropped to the floor out of instinct. The tail nicked his shoulder and Peter cursed, staying down as the armored tail whipped back over his head.

 _"Peter, MOVE!"_ Tony yelled through their com link.

Peter webbed the nearest wall he could find and yanked himself out of the way, reaching to touch the new cut on his shoulder. Green goo came back smeared on his finger and Peter cursed again.

Tony got up from where Peter had pushed him to avoid the attack and he fired a beam on one knee. He stormed forward, avoiding a glob of venom before he slammed Mac against the wall, "You stay the heck away from my kid. I'm done playing nice."

He punched Gargan in the chest, burying him further into the wall and Peter swung forward in fury, webbing Mac's hands and legs to the concrete. Then he slammed his fist across his face before the tail reared but Peter was already there, tackling it before it could hit Tony and pinning it against the stone with webs before gripping the armor with his hands, the top of the tail thrashing to break free, inches from his face.

Peter watched Tony trap Mac's hands before he could rip through the webs and his arc reactor heated up, the center of his chest exploding with a beam of light. Peter wrestled with the tail that spun, the tip threatening to dig into his shoulder. Peter's webs were breaking. He didn't know how much more he could push back to avoid the tip from nicking his arm without letting the tail go. 

Some more of his webs snapped and he cried out, groaning. Mac was laughing as Tony burned through his suit. "It's a lose, lose Stark," he cackled. 

Tony looked and saw Peter and he could see the fear through his helmet. "Peter, let it go!"

"No- finish it!" Peter yelled back. He couldn't let this go. He couldn't let Tony get hurt because of him. He didn't want him to go through this. 

"Careful Peter," Mac warned, his voice laced with pain. The tip scraped Peter's skin and he shuddered, his muscles aching as he kept the tail trapped against the wall. 

Peter made eye contact with Scorpion and snarled, "Screw you." He screwed up his eyes and shoved his full body weight forward. 

"Pete- NO!" Tony yelled. 

The tip sank into Peter's shoulder and he grit his teeth, swallowing fiery pain. The ' _shink_ ' of the armor digging into his skin makes him queasy and Peter realizes this isn't the first time he's been stabbed. It seems...familiar. In a very wrong way that he hates. He tastes bile and flashes of HYDRA swirl in his mind. The poison entered his bloodstream and Peter let out a choked cry as he feels the tip come out of the other end. 

"Ow," he snarls firmly, letting the agony wash over him as he pressing harder, burying the tip through his shoulder. Pain ripples through his shoulder and down his spine and Peter grits his teeth, his eyesight tinting red. He feels the poison crawling beneath his skin, seemingly in the back of his throat.

The Scorpion howls as Tony breaks through the suit and the man inside screams. Tony's massive beam stops pulsing from the arc reactor and Peter realizes that Mac is dead. The tail goes limp and Peter feels a tug on his shoulder as the tip slides out and falls to the ground. Peter lets go and stumbled, but Tony catches him before he can fall, putting a hand on the back of his shoulder, trying to stem the blood flow. 

Tony curses, "Kid, why-"

"You know you couldn't have done it without me," Peter slurs. 

"I would have done it differently," Tony urged, putting Peter's good arm over his shoulder. Suddenly the building shakes and Tony looks up. The ceiling dents and Tony curses again, louder this time. "Come on, Pete. Work with me here. I've gotcha."

He pulls Peter forward before he speaks harshly, "FRIDAY, transfer suit. Stop the bleeding as much as you can."

Peter feels the Iron Man suit wrap around his body, pressing against his shoulder wound and he cries out, the wound stinging. He looks around but nothing has happened yet- no one is coming back from the dead. All he knows is that the ground is shaking, there's fire everywhere and Tony's got his arm around him. His bleeding arm- Tony doesn't have the suit. He has the suit. Why does he-

“Tony you...need...the suit…” Peter says softly.

“You take that off and I'm not teaching you how to drive,” Tony says firmly.

"You were gonna teach me how to drive?" Peter grins weakly, before realizing how he worded that.

A look washes over Tony's face and he sets his jaw in determination, shaking his head, "I will teach you-" then he changes his sentence, "You're not giving up on me. Let's go."

“But-” Peter rasps.

“You heard me kid,” Tony says firmly.

"Just go," Peter urges, "Take the suit, I'll meet you out there. I just need a second."

"For the last time Peter," Tony snaps. "No."

Peter doesn’t have energy to fight him. He's just trying to see. A green tint is crowding his vision. Peter wasn't used to green. He knew red. His head nods off, slowly sinking towards his chest and Tony jostles him.

“Peter, stay with me,” he pleads. "We're almost there. Jeez kid, you forget how to walk or something?" The laugh he coughs out is weak and humorless. 

Peter still manages a scoff, "Shut up." 

He could barely see. The wound was stinging. It felt like his shoulder was on fire. Karen's voice sounded like it was underwater; only Tony's voice broke through whatever barrier was put up because of the venom. Peter struggled to breath but he keeps walking. He was taught to keep walking. Heck, he ran hundreds of miles without stopping, _come on_ Peter. Like it or not, this is what you were made to do.

But that wasn't what he was motivating him. He knows if he falls, Tony falls, and if he dies, Tony dies. Peter wouldn’t let that happen. He refused to. The whole building his shaking, the structure creaking as the ceiling caved. 

"You know you're my kid, right?" Tony suddenly said. 

"What?" Peter mumbled, looking over, dazed and in pain. Tony suddenly looked up as the ceiling started caving and he ducked under Peter's arm, holding him up and pushing him forward. "Tony, what are you doing?" Peter demanded.

Tony gives him a weak smile. "I'm gonna protect you. Even if it's the last thing I do. And I'm not letting you die here. FRIDAY, overload all voice controls. Get him out of here. Go, FRIDAY, now!"

"Wait-" Peter shouts. 

"I'm proud of you kiddo," Tony smiles. 

"No- Tony- NO!" Peter yelled as the suit burst forward, sending him crashing through the wall and into open air. Peter flails with a yell as the suit propels him forward and Peter sticks out an arm to stop his fall. He pitches forward, his shoulder flaring in pain, tumbling into the street. Peter grits his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut because everything is spinning. He hits his shoulder hard on a side of a building on the other side of the road, sending blinding pain through his spine as the suit shatters. Peter landed in an alleyway, gasping on his side as he hit the wall which brought his rolling to a stop.

Peter groaned, holding his arm before he was hit by a wave of pain and collapsed to the cold, camp, floor. The rest of the suit peeled off and Peter choked on the ground, pulling the mask off in an attempt to get air. His lungs felt like they were being clenched by a cold fist and his entire body was stinging. Peter slowly got on all fours before staggering to his feet, gripping his shoulder and trying to blink the green tint out of his eyes. 

"Peter-"

Peter looked up in shock and saw his uncle standing there, a red stain spreading on his shirt. "Why didn't you save me?"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and Miles fell into his arms, blood soaking into Peter's hands. "Peter- you could have- saved me. Saved us!"

"I'm sorry," Peter sobbed, letting Miles drop to the floor as he backed up. 

"Always apologizing," Hersh nodded, narrowing his eyes. "For ruining people's lives. There goes another one. Are you worth it? So many people have sacrificed themselves to save you Peter...why? What's so special about you? You're nothing."

"Shut up," Peter seethed, fire in his eyes. "I know better now. You're wrong."

"That's just an excuse," Caine laughed.

Peter coughed out in fury. "Shut up. All of you. You're not real."

"That's not the point Peter," Ben said sadly, pushing past Hersh, Caine and Miles. He lifted Peter's chin, looking at him with sad eyes. A tear trickled down Peter's cheek as he met gazes with his uncle.

Peter dropped to his knees. "Ben- I-"

"We were real. We were real people. And we're all alike," Ben said solemnly.

Peter shook his head, "No- Ben- you're nothing like them-"

"We all were ruined because of you," Ben said quietly. Peter's gaze filled with hurt and he sucked in a breath, tears stinging his eyes. "Miles, died for you. He was tortured for you. I just wanted a family. I was fine. My beautiful wife. My perfect life. And then you rang the doorbell," Ben said sadly.

"Knocked," Peter croaked out, trembling in anger. "I wouldn't let Tony ring the doorbell so he knocked."

Ben's gaze darkened and he let Peter's chin drop. His palms hit the ground and Peter looked up weakly. 

"Point is," Hersh shrugged, "you're a killer."

"I'm not- a killer-" Peter choked out. "I didn't kill Miles- Caine you gave me a choice. An order! And I didn't-"

"Yeah, but you wanted to Pete," Miles sighed. "You almost killed me. And look at your hands! That's my blood."

"And mine," Ben added softly. "And theirs." He shifted aside. Peter went pale. Nine people stood behind him, all staring at Peter. He knew each and every one of them. He had killed them all.

Caine crouched in front of him, pushing everyone back. He cupped Peter's neck firmly, getting a grip on his head that was anything but gentle.

"Get off me," he seethed.

Caine ignored him and sighed, "I think the main proof of why you're such a screw up Peter, is because, maybe if you were better, Tony wouldn't have died." 

Peter's eyes snapped up to meet his gaze. "No-"

"Accept it son," Caine winced. "He's dead."

"Don't call me that," Peter hissed. "He's not- you don't know Tony-"

"Do you even care about him?" Caine questioned. "Truly. Do you? Or are you just clinging to the one person, who after everything you've done, won't leave your side? Like a kicked puppy?"

"SHUT UP!" Peter grit his teeth and screamed, shoving him off him. He collapsed to his side, his eyes on the building, and it was after a couple of seconds when he realized everyone was gone. The alley was empty. 

"Peter!"

Peter groaned, choking on a sob. He was done. He didn't know how much more he could take- how many times he could deny- but this time it wasn't an illusion. Peter sat up weakly, seeing MJ running towards him with something in her hands. Peter breathed a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall, holding his shoulder. 

"MJ," he gasped. 

"Peter-" she dove to her knees, letting the baseball bat drop.

They stared at each other for a second before she tackled him in a hug. Peter didn't care about his shoulder. He hugged her back, fisting her hair in his shaking hand and stuttering, "Is everyone ok? Is everyone safe? MJ, is everyone ok?" His voice broke and Peter felt tears in his eyes. 

"Everyone's ok. Everyone's ok Pete," she assured him, pulling away. "That guy, did you stop him-"

"Yeah, yeah, we stopped him," Peter groaned, shifting his position when suddenly his hand hit something. "Is that a bat?" he mumbled.

"I didn't know if you needed help. It was on the bus," she said weakly.

"Oh," Peter nodded, wincing as he swallowed with effort, his voice cracking. "Ok, MJ, I have to go." He winced, pressing his palms against the ground, using the wall behind him to sit up straighter.

"Pete- what-" MJ let out a confused laugh, grabbing his arm and putting a hand on his back. "It's fine. Everyone made it ok."

"No," Peter groaned. Not everyone was ok. The person who meant more to him than anyone although he would never admit it, was not ok. Red blotted out the green in Peter's vision and he controlled it this time, using it to his advantage. Adrenaline surged through him and Peter grasped the wall, groaning, "Up. I gotta get up. I have to go back in-" He yanked the mask down over his face and summoned what was left of the Iron Man suit.

It closed over his body, the arc reactor lighting up in the center. Peter's suit was visible underneath the cracked armor, and FRIDAY's voice entered his mask in addition to Karen's.

_"My scanning systems are offline Peter. You're going to have to find him on your own."_

Peter cursed, MJ's hand tightening on his arm as he started limping forward with her help.

"Peter, you can't go back in there- the whole place came down," MJ said firmly, but nevertheless she helped him stagger out of the alley, looping an arm around his waist. 

"Tony's in there," Peter said through gritted teeth as he limped into the street. 

MJ's face fell and she looked at the building in shock before staring back at him. "Oh," she said quietly, and their stride quickened. "But, Peter the building came down- if you came out with the suit-" she said weakly, staring back and forth between him and the rubble. 

Peter violently shook his head, "No. No he's in there, I know it. He's in there. He has to be. I have to go get him."

MJ knew there was no arguing with him and as he unhooked her arm she cursed, peeling his mask up a bit. Then she quickly leaned forward and kissed him before yanking the mask back down. Peter stared at her, wishing it was any other time. But he wasn't about to waste another second and MJ smirked in understanding, tossing her head in the direction of the building with a smile, "Go." 

Peter lunged forward and shot a web, swinging himself forward as the thrusters fired up. Peter wobbled midair, getting a hand of the suit as it shot him towards the building. He shut off the blasters and dropped, stopping a fall with a web that allowed him to swoop down to the rubble. He landed harshly, tripping on the shattered concrete, falling onto all fours. 

"How the heck does he do this?" Peter shook his head to clear the dizziness and staggered to his feet. 

"TONY!" he yelled, looking around. His voice echoed in the building. "TONY! God- please-" 

Peter spun, the fire spreading along the rubble, smoke filling the air. He put up an arm, coughing before he swung himself forward again. "TONY! No- you're here you stupid son of- you've got to be-"

Peter raced forward, ducking under a fallen section of wall, staggering forward. The floor had caved and Peter shot a web at the ceiling, lowering himself in and looking around. The ground shook and Peter had no choice but to fire up the thrusters as it caved underneath him/ He hovered above the broken ground, his hands shaking as he tried to remain stable. 

"God- why'd you have to do that Tony-" Peter said furiously, landing again in a run, putting up a palm and shining a light in one of the dark corners. "Always so freaking self sacrificing. I wasn't meant to be saved. You could have gotten out- you genius pain in my- you better have figured out something-"

Peter turned helplessly in the rubble, staring at the piles of rocks. "No," he whispered. "No. It was supposed to be me. It was always supposed to be me."

He stuttered as he ran forward, his neck hurting from how fast he was turning it. "You always saved me. You got me out of HYDRA, even if it was planned. You saved me about fifty times before we got to the base in Germany. I mean, take one away for throwing me off the plane," he laughed sadly.

"But you always did. You were always there for me. When I had lost...everything, I always had you. And then..." Peter licked his lips. "Tony when you came into that room when I...if you hadn't...my point is, it's always been you. And for once. For _once,_ " Peter swore, pushing an overturned piece of ceiling to the side. "I thought I could save you. And then you go and pull the last trick up your sleeve of the same freaking shirt you wear every day."

Peter shook his head, tears stinging his eyes as he blasted his way through a pile of rock, "And I will- _never_ forgive you for that. So you better show up right now so I can just try and tell you everything I need to say without actually saying it. Because you know me," Peter laughed weakly. "I don't trust anyone. Except you. For some stupid reason, I trust you. And you know what," he said thoughtfully, "Ross was right. And so was Miles. And Caine."

Peter looked up, cracking a weak smile, "I don't have a lot of weak spots Tony, but the one I do have is you. You're my weak spot. And I think I'm yours. Which is why we need each other, which is why you can't be gone," he said angrily, furious with the tears that dropped down his cheeks. He turned in a full circle, barely able to breathe.

Anger heated up in his chest and Peter spun, slamming his fist into the wall, cracking the stone. Peter turned around again and choked, "Come on Tony, I lost Miles- I lost my mom- I lost my dad- and then I lost Ben- I can't- I can't lose a father again- I can't. So you can't be- I will kill you myself, I swear to God-"

"That's super sentimental and all, but kid, seriously. Next time I throw you out of a burning building, stay out, will ya?" 

Peter closed his eyes and got to his feet, turning around. Tony landed a couple feet away from him, wobbling since the only parts of the suit he had attached were the four stabilizers. He kicked them off in disgust and the disregarded parts smoked on the ground. Then Tony flashed a smile, rubbing his wrists. "That prototype that Old MacDonald ripped apart? Still working. My suits are top notch baby, that's going down as a very high accomplishment."

"You-" Peter whispered, stepping forward. 

Tony spread his hands cockily to meet him, "I am Iron Man-"

Peter curled his fist and punched him hard across the face.

Tony's head snapped to the side and Peter waited patiently with a glare on his face as Tony he groaned, flexing his jaw, before straightening with a slight wince. He grinned, rubbing the side of his face and admitting, "Nice punch kid. Nice punch. I deserved that I guess-"

Peter grabbed Tony's shoulders and pulled him forward, hugging him tightly, fisting the back of his shift in his hands. Tony wrapped his arms around him and Peter felt tears in his eyes. He curled his fists tighter and demanded shakily, "Don't you ever do that again, you understand me?"

"Yeah, yeah, you know I can't make that promise," Tony said firmly, tightening the hug, his voice breaking only slightly. 

"Well you have to," Peter said firmly, curling his fists- almost wanting to punch Tony in the back. 

"Kid...if it comes down to it, you know I'd take a bullet for you," Tony said quietly. "So no, I'm not promising that I won't, because I would die for you- without hesitation. And I know- as much as I hate it, that you would do the same."

Peter doesn't want to admit he's right but he is and he hugged him harder, his hands shaking. "You're the closest thing...I can't...there's a lot I-" Peter said quietly, his voice muffled from Tony's shoulder. 

"I know kid," Tony assured him, clasping his shoulder harder. "I know."

Peter nodded, tears building up in his eyes. Then clasped Tony's shoulder and pulled away, glaring at him. "I hate you."

"Brat," Tony shot back with affection before he steps back to look at the banged up Iron Man armor he's sporting over his Spiderman suit.

"You told me not to take it off," Peter grinned.

"You look good," Tony admitted before his lip curled and he suggested, "Iron Man Jr."

"Absolutely not," Peter grinned, shaking his head. "No."

He and Peter start to walk out and Tony looks over with a smile, "You were worried about me, weren't you?"

Peter scoffs and plays it off with a firm shake of his head, "No. Not at all."

"What, so I didn't get one of those breakdown speeches where you confessed everything and got all teary eyed? Like in those chick flicks?"

"Thought you hated chick flicks," Peter grinned before he shook his head, "No. I knew you weren't dead."

"Oh, ok," Tony smiled, clearly not believing him.

Peter looked down before he then mumbled, "But you do it again, and I swear to God, I'm not coming in after you."

"Sure you're not kiddo, we'll go with that," Tony snorted.

"I'm serious!" Peter protested. 

"Ok," Tony laughed. 

"You're acting like you don't believe me," Peter gasped with a smirk. 

" _Ok_ ," Tony said again, his tone mockingly innocent. 

"Shut up," Peter laughed, shoving him with his good shoulder. 

"ANTHONY STARK!"

"Abort. Abort," Tony hissed and all of the Avengers scrambled out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Peter, who was in front of Tony, looked back at him before moving aside, but not leaving. He rarely saw Tony scared, but when Pepper calls him by his first name...that was a different story. 

Pepper stormed into the room, furious as ever. "Are you kidding me? We were supposed to have a date tonight. That's not why I'm mad. I get it. You’re Iron Man. I put up with a lot. Not many women will stick with someone who cancels dates at least seven times a month.”

”Nine once,” Tony grins weakly, immediately trailing off at Pepper’s glare. 

“I'm mad because of the reason. Do you know what I went through when I got a call from a certain someone that oh, I'm gonna be home late because oh, sorry I got nearly killed by some idiot running around the streets of New York with poison? Nearly killed? What if you had died?"

"But I didn't," Tony pointed out before trying a smile. "See? Honey, I'm home. We can still have that date. I was gonna order from a fancy restaurant and then put it in the oven and say I cooked it, come on, we can still do that, right?" 

"Are you ok?" she demanded. 

"Yes?" Tony said, phrasing it as a question. Peter made a face and shook his head, signalling that he had just said the wrong answer. Unfortunately, his silent conversation with Tony didn't go unnoticed; Pepper caught him. 

"And you Parker," she said angrily. Peter widened his eyes and looked at her, shifting his weight from foot to foot as she shook her head, "You're almost as bad as him! What am I going to do with the both of you? You're gonna give me a heart attack."

"Pepper, we're okay," Tony insisted. 

Pepper glared at him, "Tony, your suits are shattered, you're bleeding and bruised, your favorite shirt is ripped-"

"It's ok, he has like fifty more in his closet probably," Peter snickered, cutting off his laugh from a glance from Pepper. "Sorry, wrong time."

"You look worse than him. What happened to your shoulder?" Pepper asked in furious concern. 

"Stabbed," Peter said helpfully. 

Tony let out a sigh, "You have to word it a little less blunt than that-"

"Stabbed," Pepper repeated weakly, her eyes wide. "Stabbed, and you're okay with this?"

"Pepper-" Tony tried, putting his hands on her shoulder. 

"Take a shower. Then we'll talk," she scrunched up her nose. 

"You don't mean that," Tony gasped in mock offense. 

"No. Normally I wouldn't care. But right I don't know whether to kiss or slap you, so I would take your opening while you still can," she said firmly. 

"I punch him in the face all the time, he doesn't mind," Peter assures her. 

Pepper sighed, brushing hair out of her face and putting a hand to her forehead, "I just need...it's not easy, when you don't know if the guy you love is coming home. And when he does...just barely, it's a lot to process ok? So this is a justified reaction, because excuse me for not liking this situation that happens a little too often!" she yells. 

"Pepp," Tony says gently, understanding in his gaze. 

"How many times do I have to watch you almost die?" Pepper yelled at him in anger, her eyes flashing as she turned around and stormed towards the door. 

"Hopefully a lot more," Tony called weakly. Peter looks back and forth between them and then slowly backs out of the room, turning on his heel and sprinting. Neither notice.

Pepper stopped and turned around slowly. "What?"

"Hopefully a lot more. Because I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Tony said after a second of silence. "And I know it won't be easy. You're in a relationship with me, so things will never be easy, but I hope you're good with that, because I love you. And I am a hot mess," Tony admitted. "But I want to protect one of the few things I can't live without. And you're one of them Pepp. So, I-" 

Tony winced and looked up guiltily, "I don't have the ring right now, because I don't take it with me when I want to blow up freaks who cosplay bugs, and I would get down on one knee but you'd probably yell at me for ripping the stitches because you always yell at me- and I'm gonna snip that tangent before it even starts," Tony said wisely. 

"This is long overdue Pepp," Tony admits. "I don't think there is...a perfect time. Like we need time though?" he grins. 

"Yes."

Tony's head snaps up and Pepper's smiling at him, her eyes shining with tears. Tony stutters, "Come again?"

"What, did you think you would have to convince me?" Pepper laughs.

"Well I hadn't even asked the question yet," Tony splutters. "Usually people wait until the guy actually gets out what he was trying to say?"

"Well for one, I'm not usual. And you would have never gotten there if I didn't help you out a teeny bit," Pepper smiles. 

"What would I do without you?" Tony smirks, rubbing her arms.

"I guess you'll never know," Pepper says firmly, smiling at him. "Because yes."

Tony surges forward and kisses her and Pepper wraps her arms around him, smiling. Suddenly there's a crack from the other room and a bunch of yells and beeping fills the room. All of the sprinklers go off, drenching them and Tony looks up as water rains down in the lobby. There's screaming and laughing from the Avengers in the other room as a small bit of smoke comes drifting from underneath the door. Hoots of laughter combat with coughing and Tony makes a face as Pepper laughs, putting her forehead against his shoulder as he looks towards the door.

"You've got to be kidding me," he laughs angrily.

"I don't care," Pepper smiles, kissing him again as he sweeps her up in his arms. 

"Hey!" Peter yells, from the upper level, leaning over the side with something in his grasp. He throws something over the edge and Tony catches it with one hand, winking at the kid. He opens it and takes out the ring.

"I've had this since 2008."

"About time!" Peter yells happily. 

"Shut up," Tony calls back. 

"Thank you Peter," Pepper grins sweetly. "You should listen to your kid you know, he's smart."

"My kid?" Tony grins. 

"Oh yeah," Pepper grins. "Don't try and pretend that's not your son up there."

"Why is this about me all of a sudden?" Tony started to smile. 

Pepper kisses him, speaking against his lips, "Isn't it always about you?"

Tony lets out a scoff, "You want the ring or not hon?"

Pepper grins as Tony laughs and takes her hand gently. "Well, I don't need to ask the question I guess, because I already know the answer," Tony laughs happily, sliding it onto her finger.

"You've asked the question a long time ago, you just didn't know it." Pepper laughs and hugs him. "It's beautiful," she whispers, admiring it as she hugs him, her head on his shoulder. 

"This what you pictured? Perfect engagement?" he grins, hearing the laughing of the Avengers, the water pouring down from the sprinklers and Peter with Tony's phone, hanging from the balcony from a web, taping the whole thing.

Pepper laughs, "Nothing is every normal with you."

"This is true," Tony grins, breaking away as the Avengers open the doors to come offer congratulations. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it???? Please let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys and all of your comments have absolutely made my day XD I love them all. Next chapter will have A BUNCH of throwbacks to stuff from earlier chapters, which I have already started writing (I rly like it ahah) and a couple more big things. Fluff and angst will level out, it wasn't toooo bad this chap right? Happy ending is in store. With a time jump!!! So stay tuned for the final chapter, I can't believe this fic is ending, I am so sad but so thankful for all of you. It has been so amazing and I appreciate all your support. BUT ITS NOT DONE YET PUT AWAY YOUR TISSUES  
> Final chapter soon, thank you so much for reading, and stay tuned! Also stay healthy and I hope you aren't going stir crazy with no school and boredom!!!  
> I love you all 3000 <3


	28. I Love You 3000

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to stiltsroskro who gave me this amazing prompt. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) Hello lovely readers <3 I have huge mixed feelings about this chapter. It's been hands down my favorite to write but also the saddest. Rest assured- I really really like and am super satisfied with the ending. I don't want to talk about it too much but it's the moment you all have been waiting for: the final chapter. Can you believe I started this 5 months ago? When Tony met a brown haired kid who told him his name was Peter? Ahhhhhh! I'm sorry this is a little late (but it is a long one so yay) to be honest, I kept postponing finishing because I seriously didn't want it to end but here we are.  
> This has been by far my favorite fic, and it has been such a journey. It has honestly helped me through this crazy time and I hope it has inspired you all as much as it has me. Whether you were here since the beginning, or middle, or end I love all of you so much and if I could thank you all individually I would <3 <3 All of the comments and kudos and hits have been amazing and I am soooo sooo grateful for all of you. The reviews have been outstanding and constantly made my day. Ok, I'll shut up now XD Thank you for dealing with my long notes lol Stay healthy and safe during this stressful time, and I hope you all enjoy this final chapter. I love you all 3000 <3

**One Day Later**

Peter walked back in to school with his backpack slung over his good arm. MJ caught sight of him the minute he got through the door and rushed him with a one armed hug so she didn't hit his healing wound on his other shoulder. Peter grinned and hugged her back but it ended just as soon as it began, with MJ pulling away flustered, pushing her hair behind her ear and checking to see if anyone saw the display of affection. 

"What the heck are you doing?" she hissed angrily.

Peter put on an innocent face and smiled, "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ , you yesterday you got beat up by that...thing, dragged off until Tony went and got you, and then blown out of it with a giant hole in your shoulder. Then you went back in! And now you're back in school and say, what do I mean? Isn't your chest all ripped up?" she demanded. 

Peter gave a light shrug, "I heal quickly. I'll be fine by tomorrow." MJ lightly flicked him in the chest and Peter winced, groaning and recoiling to protect his healing cut, "Ow."

She gave him a glare, "That's for coming to school."

"We have a math test," Peter complained.

MJ rolled her eyes and shook her head as Ned ran up to both of them. He grinned at Peter and they did their handshake they had made up a week ago, "Hey Pete."

"'Hey Pete'?" MJ snapped. 

Ned looked at her in confusion and guessed, " _Hello,_ Peter?" MJ gave him a look and then Ned seemingly understood, "Oh how are you feeling?" MJ looked smug until Ned finished with, "Are you ready for it? I studied all night and am still a little stressed. Although that might be because I was attacked by a giant lizard bug man."

MJ looked at them both in utter disbelief and shook her head, "Unbelievable." 

Peter's gaze flicked pointedly to his own shoulder to help his friend out and Ned's eyes widened. "Oh! Peter's fine MJ, he does this all the time. But what he is sad about is the fact that we didn't get to go on that field trip."

Peter shot him a look, "Yeah, right."

"He had a plan," Ned said proudly. 

MJ smirked, looking over at Peter who was glaring at Ned with all of his heart, "You had a plan?"

"No- No I don't- I didn't have a plan," Peter laughs nervously. 

"No, he was just going to look at all the abstract art and take pictures," Ned winked at Peter. 

"Oh...so like a grandmother?" MJ grins. 

"No, I wasn't going to do that. He was going to do that," Peter said angrily. 

MJ looked between the both of them and then leaned back on her heels, "Okay, well...that was a real roller coaster."

"Yeah," Peter laughed awkwardly, stepping on Ned's foot. 

MJ smirked, "Well the one upside of not going is that I had forgotten to download a VPN on my phone so that the government couldn't track us. Because when you use public wifi," she made a face. "So at least we didn't get hacked."

Peter broke into a smile, "Smart. I'll do that next time."

MJ gives him a half grin before the bell rings and she looks up in the direction of the steps, "Ok, class. Peter, you coming?"

"Yeah, Ned, I'll see you at lunch. I expect to know how the math test went," Peter called as he backed away. "You'll do fine!"

Ned rolled his eyes and groaned, "I'm gonna die."

"If you die, who's gonna be my guy in the chair?" Peter pointed at him. 

Ned brightened, "Good point."

Peter and MJ walked up the steps, moving around people before entering the classroom together, taking their seats towards the middle of the room. 

"So how is the shoulder?" she asked once they got settled. 

Peter shrugged his backpack off of his shoulder and made a face, "Good. For being stabbed."

MJ smirked before she frowned, "I don't even know why we have school today. It's so messed up."

Peter nodded in agreement, "Well good thing Spiderman was there to save the day."

MJ laughed as she rolled her eyes and stretched in her seat, "Don't toot your own horn. We hear enough about it on the announcements."

"He totally saved your life though," Peter admitted in awe, suppressing a smile. "What a good guy."

"After I saved his!" MJ shot back, kicking his foot. "I had it under control."

"Sure, sure," Peter nodded firmly, a small grin creeping onto his face. MJ kicked him again before they both went quiet as the announcements started. Halfway through though Peter tensed, his hair standing up on end. Panic crept down his spine. He couldn't fight right now. His shoulder hurt more than he let on. If he couldn't protect MJ-

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

"Exit the building in an orderly fashion. When we get outside, line up and say here when your name is called," the teacher droned, leaving the classroom. Peter could barely hear her.

Fire drill. Only a fire drill Peter. Ned had mentioned those, but this was his first one. People were already started to get up, talking and laughing while making their way to the door. Peter, on the other hand....his sigh of relief that it wasn't something serious was cut short as the loud sound pierced his ears. He recoiled and ducked his head to his chest in pain, pressing his palms to his ears, a migraine already starting.

Peter groaned in pain and MJ slid out of her seat worriedly, putting a hand on his back, "Peter, what's wrong?"

"Loud," Peter moaned, the sound resonated in his head. "Really really loud- ah!"

He pushed himself out of his chair, his knees buckling as he fell to the ground with his hands clenched over his ears. His head felt like it was going to explode. His teeth were chattering because of how loud it was. Peter winced at the massive ringing in his ears. 

"Josh," MJ hissed. "Josh!" The boy just about to walk out of the room turned around with a sigh and MJ hissed, "You're gonna say here for Peter and I when you get outside, got it?"

Josh made a face, "And why the heck would I-"

"Because you were the one who copied the answer key to the science test and if you plan on keeping that a secret I suggest you help me out," MJ snapped. 

"Fine," Josh sighed and he walked out the door, leaving MJ and Peter alone in the classroom. 

"Wow," Peter groaned. "Do you have dirt on everybody?"

"I told you, I'm observant," she corrected, looping her arm over his good shoulder and slipping it around his waist. "Come on."

She helped him stagger out of the room and into the empty hallway because by the time they got there everyone had already passed. She starts towards the boy's bathroom and Peter mumbles, "You can't go in there-"

"Watch me Parker," she says firmly, shoving the door open and catching him as he collapses to the ground. 

Peter cries out in pain, taking a gasping breath as he feels a panic attack take hold. 

"Peter, you have to calm down," MJ pleads. 

"I-I can't," Peter chokes out, blinking hard and squeezing his eyes shut, swallowing another scream as the alarm gets louder as it travels through the school. His lungs tighten and Peter is desperate to breathe. 

Peter can't see. Everything is spinning. The beeping is getting louder and Peter feels it vibrating in his bones, crawling into his teeth as he grinds them together. Peter shoves himself up against the wall, his knees to his chest, his head ducked down. He barely hears MJ's questions, barely feels her hand gripping his good shoulder. It hurts, but it's not just the severity of the alarm, it's something else. 

And he knows what it is.

_Peter flipped, slamming his heels into the man's back, knocking him to the floor. He dodged and swung, knocking the other enemy aside, twisting his gun and slamming it across his chest, sending him halfway across the room._

_He blocked a strike effortlessly and jumped as the man tried to swipe his legs. Peter shot a web that it him in the face and yanking it down into his waiting knee before spinning and launching a kick that probably broke the man's leg._

_Seeing red, Peter grabbed his collar and flipped him over his shoulder before running forward and sliding under the other agent's legs. He sprang to his feet and thrust a palm into the back of his elbow, hooking his ankle around the man's leg and flipping him. Peter snatched the pistol before it could hit the floor and unloaded it in one fluid motion._

_Someone ran at him from the side and Peter didn't even have to look as he ducked and jabbed forward with the butt of the gun, catching the man in the ribs. Peter moved towards him and grabbed his arm over his shoulder, backing the man into the wall. They hit it hard and Peter maintained his grip on the man's wrist. He twisted it, feeling his shoulder pop before slamming his head back, knocking the man out._

_Ducking a shot that hit the wall behind him Peter threw the gun and shot a web at the man's foot, knocking him off his feet before punching his attacker across the face as he went down. Peter webbed a spot on the wall and swung forward, landing a kick into the man's stomach._

_His enemy sprawled to the floor and Peter landed on one knee. He straightened, breathing hard before he suddenly tensed. Turning around Peter was met by at least 10 men with guns. He put up his hands, knowing this was the end of the training round-_

_BANG_

_A gun fired right next to his ear before Peter could even react, so concentrated on what was in front of him that he didn't even realize what was behind him. Peter fell to the ground clutching his ears, screaming in pain and shock as he tried to scramble away._

_The gunshot echoed in his ears which felt like they were bleeding. For a second Peter couldn't even see. Everything hurt- he was in utter shock, his whole body trembling. His teeth were clenched and his eyes were wide with fear and pain._

_"Hurts, doesn't it?" Hersh hissed._

_Peter groaned and curled up on himself, still hearing the shot in his ears, squeezing his eyes shut._

_"You have to be ready for that. You hesitate, you're dead," Hersh hissed, kicking Peter as he approached him. "You let your enemy get the best of you, you're dead."_

_He broke through Peter's hold on his ears and grabbed his collar, pressing the gun to his throat, "Dead."_

_Peter's glare bore into him, his Adam's apple freezing as the muzzle dug into it. Peter choked and then grit his teeth, rolling away and standing up, putting up his fists. Hersh fired the gun and Peter flinched, stumbling a bit but he kept walking forward. Hersh fired it again and Peter didn't even blink._

_Then he saw Hersh turn his head, catching sight of some sort of ear plugs as he signaled towards the camera placed at the end of the room. Peter read his lips since he couldn't hear; everything seemed muffled and underwater._

_"Hit him."_

_Before Peter could even brace, a massive sound blasted through the room from the speakers and Peter screamed, falling to his knees._

_"Get up," Hersh seethed._

_With effort and got one foot up, lifting his head just as another massive sound rocked the room, and Peter groaned, falling onto all fours. He ducked his head into the ground, pressing his palms into his ears so much he felt like he was going to crack his skull._

_"Weak."_

_Knees scraping against the floor, Peter raised his head and got quickly to his feet, swaying only slightly, centering himself and blinking to clear the white spots in his vision. Another massive sound hit his ears and Peter almost fell flat but he only doubled, grasping his knees to keep himself from falling. Peter wanted to put his hands to his ears but he knew if he did that his knees would buckle. So he dug his nails into his legs and grit his teeth, breathing hard and swallowing a sob._

_Peter's ears rung and the next massive blast made his mouth open in a silent cry of pain as Peter squeezed his eyes shut but didn't waver, locking his knees._

_"Good Peter."_

_Peter glared at that and took another step forward, his entire body shaking as the sound grew louder. Hersh walked towards him finally getting a grip on his collar but Peyer locked his knees and grabbed the man's arm, not allowing himself to falter at the rising pressure in his head and the urge to shove his head through a wall to stop the ringing._

_Hersh watched him as Peter gripped the wrist clenching his collar, flinching ever so slightly, his knees trembling. He reached up and pressed his finger against Peter's ear and he winced, choking on a cry. Hersh showed him his finger. It was sticky with blood. Peter's ears were bleeding._

_"It's a good start," Hersh said firmly. "But you have to be better."_

_Peter hated himself for it but he nodded, "I- I know."_

_"Good." Hersh pulled out his gun again and fired it right next to Peter's ear._

Peter gasped on the ground, grabbing his ears and ducking his head down. 

"Peter, Peter look at me, it stopped! It stopped, just breathe," MJ pleaded from somewhere above the surface. 

It hadn't stopped for Peter. As much he hated it, it was not only the massive ringing in his ears, but the feeling that he would never truly escape his past. He pried his eyes open and looked up. MJ cupped his cheek, looking into his eyes in horror. 

"Peter, breathe-"

"MJ, I can't," Peter gasps out, trying to steady his breathing. "I'm not who you think I am-"

MJ's face screwed up with worry and she shook her head, "Hey, no, stop-"

"I can't breathe-" Peter said out loud, hyperventilating. "I can't breathe-" MJ let out a sound of panic before she ducked her head, lifting Peter's chin. He looked up, startled, choking out, "Wha-"

Before Peter knew it she was kissing him. Peter held his breath and blinked, letting time stop as he kissed her back. MJ pulled away slowly, her hand cupping his chin and they locked eyes. 

"Um-" MJ lowered her gaze. 

Peter blinked, taking a deep breath. The tightness in his lungs had dissapeared, "H-how did you do that?"

"Good improvisation," MJ said firmly. "I have no idea." Peter took another breath, unclenching his fists and blinking. He sat up against the wall and MJ sank down back on her haunches. "Y- you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm..." Peter trailed off, running a trembling hand through his hair, rubbing his chest where his lungs felt taught, wary of his cut. There was another second of silence, with exchanged glances of pain and concern before Peter finally blurted out, "MJ...I- I really...like you." 

MJ seems taken back by that and a confused smile and stutters back, "I...really like you too."

Peter gives her a sad smile. He couldn't let her get hurt. He had to tell her. He owed her that. He knew she would probably walk away but he couldn't lie to her. Peter took a deep breath and his voice broke, "But...I- MJ the things I've done- I don't know if you want to-"

MJ cuts him off, "Peter, you're Spiderman. Of course you have to-"

"No, MJ you don't get it," Peter says weakly, shaking her head. The minute he told her about what had happened to him she would think he was some freak and not want to deal with all of Peter's issues and leave. He was surprised someone even stayed to help him through his panic attacks. 

"Peter, I don't have to get it. I understand that there's a lot of things that you think make you a bad person, but you're not a bad guy. You're a really sweet guy. We all have our secrets ok, and our pasts. I have mine. I'm not about to judge you for that," she said firmly. "On top of that, you're- you're Spiderman, so...that changes a lot. You save people's lives on a daily. You've saved mine. I think that makes up for whatever you think you did ok? And as for me?" She gives him a shy smile. "You don't need to worry about me being scared of you or anything."

Peter sat there in silence for a second, unsure of what to say. Then he looked up, "So you- and you're not...afraid of me?" Peter asked slowly. 

MJ snorted, "You may be able to stop a bus with your bare hands but you don't even know how to talk to girls, so no Parker, I'm not afraid of you."

"Hey," Peter groaned, rubbing his temples. 

She grinned, "I deal with it though...so life fulfilled. But you are a dork," she informed him.

Peter offered a weak smile, taking a shuddery breath, "Yeah- yeah, I know that."

"By the way, who is...Hersh..." MJ trailed off, startled as Peter's gaze snapped to her. "You were mumbling it when you..." she explained. 

"Oh," Peter winced. "Yeah." He lowered his head. "I didn't just get my powers. It's a really long story. I'll explain it all I promise, if you want, but...short story is I wasn't oversees for nine years like I told you I was. I was...there was this group. They're gone now. They took me from my parents and for nine years...they-and Hersh was the one who-"

"I get," MJ said quickly, cutting him off and Peter exhaled slowly. "I don't want to make you relive anything. Especially not after..." She smiled with sympathy and Peter gave her a tight look of gratitude. "That guy...is he dead?" MJ asked slowly. Peter nodded and he watched her soldiers relax. "Good. Or I would have killed him myself."

Peter cracked a smile. He looked up at his best friend and thought, screw it. Peter knew he wasn't normal. He was never gonna be normal. But if someone was willing to put aside everything he had done, and not care about the worse things he refused to tell, that was something he couldn't let slip. Peter locked eyes with her and asked slowly, "MJ? Do you want to...maybe later this week...if you wanted to-"

"Yes," she cut him off, grinning shyly. "Yeah, that would be cool."

Peter wrung out his mask which was soaking wet, grinning as he shifted the ear piece in his ear. He was sitting on top of a lamp post, pond water dripping down into a growing puddle as Peter attempted to dry off his suit while talking to Tony.

 _"She pulled a Pepper!"_ Tony hooted with laughter; Peter had just described his experience in asking MJ out. _"Why do girls cut us off before we get to the punchline? It's like ruining a good joke."_

He smiled, chuckling a bit, "Yeah, I guess she did. And I don't know, but they do it a lot, I'm realizing."

 _"So she helped you with your panic attack?"_ Tony said slowly, changing the subject like Peter knew he would. He tried to make it sound better than it actually was, because truth be told, Peter was still shaken up for the rest of the day, but he knew Tony was catching on to its severity. 

"Yeah...she...kissed me," Peter chuckled in confusion, balancing on the top of the lamppost as he squeezed the fabric of his suit around his foot. More lake water dripped to the ground and Peter pulled off a piece of algae from the bottom of his foot, flicking it away. "And yeah, I just kind of calmed down and got it under control."

 _"Wow,"_ Tony exclaimed.

"Right?" Peter laughed, shaking his head in amazement. "I don't know why that worked but it totally did."

 _"So you two have a date then?"_ Tony clarified. 

Peter stopped wringing out his mask to smile at that, "Yeah, I- I guess we do."

_"I'm proud of you. What about that necklace you were talking about getting her? You gonna give that to her?"_

Peter winced. He had found the perfect gift, but didn't have enough money to buy it yet. He shook his head, "No not yet."

 _"Why not?"_ Tony exclaimed. 

"No reason. Shut up," Peter let out a laugh. "You have Pepper to spoil, not MJ."

 _"Pepper never wears anything I buy her,"_ Tony sighed. _"Quite hurtful actually."_ Peter laughed, shaking his head. Then Tony paused, " _But are you sure you're ok? I feel like you're sugar coating it all for me. If it was that bad you should have called me kid,_ " Tony said slowly. 

Peter rolled his eyes, "Ok princess, don't get your feelings hurt, I'm not replacing you."

_"That is not what-"_

"That's exactly what that meant, don't even with me," Peter cut him off. "I'm ok. Just...am constantly reminded that I've got a lot of issues. It's not gonna go away, I've just got to learn to live with it I guess. But this one had a good outcome, so I can't complain."

 _"Fair enough,"_ Tony admitted. _"But remind me why you were at the bottom of the lake again?"_

"Car chase," Peter sighed. "Dude didn't know how to freaking drive. Although that might have been because I was wrestling a gun out of his hand while going 60 miles per hour. Anyway we got into a neighborhood and the dude drove the stupid thing right into a lake. I had to go get some idiot at the bottom. I'm good now. Just a little cold," he shivered as he said that. 

He could practically hear the smirk in Tony's voice, _"Bet you're glad that suit has a heater now, aren't you?"_

"Actually it hasn't even crossed my mind," Peter lied, stretching his back as another shiver went down his spine. Truth be told it was the first thing he told Karen to do once he pulled himself onto dry land and swung away before the cops and EMT's could talk to him. He had been warming up for the past couple minutes.

 _"Sure, sure, so the alert that you turned it on about eight minutes ago must be FRIDAY glitching then,"_ Tony said smugly. Peter cursed and he heard a chuckle from the other line, _"Woah. That's my word, back off."_

"Do you put everything in my suit? You're like May with all of her phone trackers and stuff," Peter groaned, scratching his head before shoving his mask back on.

_"Sorry. I take my job as a parent very seriously. Technically I'm still your legal guardian."_

"Hate to break it to you," Peter grinned and webbed the lamp pot, sliding off the edge and gently lowering himself down to the ground, "but you missed the word 'temporary' when you signed that thing."

 _"I would have signed it regardless,"_ Tony said and Peter looked down with a smile. Then Tony added to his previous statement to mask his sign of affection, _"Bossing you around is more fun than I've had in years."_

"That's sad. That's really sad," Peter informed him as he let go of the web for the last couple of feet. Then he grins, "I'll be over in an hour ok?"

 _"You better shower. You come in here and drip pond water all over my lab and I'll kill you."_ Tony sounded dead serious. 

"Yeah, yeah," Peter sighed. 

_"Also, I'll be in a meeting for the next hour or so. I'll wrap it up when you get here but feel free to start doing whatever in the lab. It may take a couple minutes because I actually have to be nice now. Jeffery is a very ok dude. He's not Ross, I can't just hang up."_

"A whole lab to myself?' Peter grinned.

_"On second thought, sit in a chair and don't touch anything, how about that?"_

"Funny," Peter snorted. "I'll see you in an hour."

_"Ok kid."_

Peter walked forward, trudging through the damp grass when someone broke through the treeline. Peter put up his fists, crouching, ready to strike, when he relaxed, checked to make sure no one was watching, before he pulled off his mask. "Hey Keith!" Keith grinned and the two hugged briefly, before stepping back. Peter clasped his shoulder, "How's it going man?"

"Not bad, not bad," Keith smiled, raising an eyebrow. "How about you, how's school? You studying hard?"

"Well no, I don't have time, I'm too busy cleaning up your messes," Peter said innocently before laughing, "I'm kidding. I'm kidding!"

"Better be," Keith laughed. Then his tone sobered and he looked pointedly at Peter, motioning to his bad arm, "You took a hit yesterday. I'm surprised you're even out here."

Peter winced, flexing his shoulder, "Yeah, I was going to take a day off, but...duty calls."

"Right it does. You sure you don't need that arm looked at?" Keith asked. When Peter shook his head Keith stepped forward with a sigh putting his palm on his shoulder and pressing gently while holding his arm in place.

A movement that should not have made him even flinch, strained his muscle and Peter pressed his lips together before wincing and twisting away with a cocky grin, "Nah. Barely stung. Hey, how'd you know it was that arm?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because I have experience in that arena?" the EMT slurred sarcastically. Keith pointed at him, "You're bending your opposite knee to ease the weight distribution and slightly arching your wrist in to cradle the bone."

Peter, suddenly self conscious, tried to do the opposite of those things and lied, "No I'm not."

"Yeah, what would I know?" Keith pointed out. "Just saying, I don't need to have Spiderman swinging around the city with a crappy arm."

"I'll be fine. It's what I do," Peter assured him. 

"So I've heard," Keith smiled, referring to the first time they had met. He put out his hand and Peter shook it. "Just take the day off tomorrow, ok? At least? You deserve it."

"You sure you can handle that?" Peter grinned. 

"I guess we'll see Parker. Keep up the good work. I'll see you around kid," Keith winked. 

Peter gave him a salute and fired a web at the nearest tree, flinging himself forward before swinging towards the city. 

"Are we having fun yet?" Tony grinned, putting his feet up on the table. 

_"You're a cocky son of a-"_ the newest board member slurred.

The new director, Jeffery Mace cut in before things could get too out of hand, _"What they're trying to say Stark, is that, even though the previous members' loyalties did not lie with the proper people, their concerns were still valid,"_ he supplied. Then he crossed his arm and smirked, _"Now, I'm not saying I agree with their opinions, but that's just what they're trying to say without the added eloquence to make them sound more important than they actually are."_

"This is why we get along," Tony grinned and Mace gave him a small smile. 

_"What I understand is the Avengers are here to protect us, to protect Earth. They can't do that when we're holding them back,"_ Jeffery said firmly.

Tony winked at the fuming board members, "Don't worry gents, I'm a big boy now. If you have an issue, feel free to put your piece of mind in the suggestion box. Small? Round? Looks like a trash can. We've been doing well for the past couple years, there is no reason to change anything. Yes, we've had some slip ups, but the world is still in tact, so I'd say we're doing out job. That is our job, right, to make sure the world doesn't explode?"

 _"Where's Rhodes?"_ one of them sighed in annoyance. 

"Good Cop isn't here right now," Tony made a face. "Sorry. I'll tell him you missed him though dear."

Jeffery looked down to hide a smile before he pushes some papers aside and flattens his hands on his desk, _"Next topic of discussion-"_

 _"We're not done-"_ someone started furiously. 

Tony pointed to the papers that were discarded a few seconds ago, "Oh! Oh! I was paying attention. When the papers are moved to the side, it usually means you're done with that topic." He shot a cocky grin at the owner's of the dirty looks he got. "Sorry Mace, continue."

Just then the door opens and Peter pokes his head in. Tony spins in his chair and grins, "Hey kid, wha-" Peter's hair is dusted in the same white dust he is covered head to toe in, and Tony just stares, trying not to laugh as Peter steps into the room. Tony snickers, "What happened to you?"

"DUM-E," Peter sighs, "Fire extinguisher. Hi Mace!" he salutes Jeffery who grins and greets him. 

_"Hi Peter. Building the future?"_ he asks. Tony can't help but grin. He loves the new director so much more than Ross, mostly due to his respect for Peter. 

"Trying to," Peter gives a lopsided grin. 

"I told you not to touch anything," Tony shoots him a look, spinning in the chair as he stared at the kid. 

"You were totally joking when you said that," Peter counters, ruffling the dust out of his hair. 

Tony nods, scratching his chin thoughtfully, "Yeah, well, maybe I should have been serious. Also, why is it you're always blowing up stuff when I'm in meetings?" Tony remembered the first time Peter had barged in, smoking that time, in the middle of a meeting.

"Oh, yeah, sure, because I intentionally time it just right-" Peter slurs sarcastically, and a big billow of white settles on the floor when he whacks his t shirt. 

Tony makes a face and groans, "Hey. Not on the carpet."

"Control your OCD," Peter shoots back, wiping some more off for good measure while making solid eye contact with him to piss him off. 

"Whatever. I'll be there in a second," Tony says with a shake of his head. 

"What about DUM-E?" Peter asks firmly. 

Tony turns to face him and resists a smile. He snickers, "I'll ground him. Feel better?"

Peter scoffs as he goes to leave, "Oh yeah, definitely."

He opens the door and Tony calls out, "You could stay ya know, talk to these wonderful people who look...thrilled...to see you," Tony motions to the board members who look just as unimpressed as the first set. 

Peter makes a face and looks back at Tony, "I'll see you in the lab. Bye Mace."

 _"Bye Peter,"_ Jeffery waves with a slight smirk. He turns to Tony, _"He's a good kid."_

Tony can't help the pride in his eyes so he makes up for it by shrugging, "He's tolerable." Then with a slight playful smile, he clasps his hands, turning back to the screen. "Ok, lets wrap this up gents."

A few minutes later, Tony jogs down the steps and walks into the lab to see Peter, in a clean change of clothes, standing with his hands in his pockets, staring at the 3D screen as FRIDAY runs some tests on a new suit model. 

"Hey Parker," he greets him.

"Hey," Peter says happily as he turns around. "I'm glad I didn't talk to those guys." 

"I thought you were an extrovert," Tony teased, recalling a similar situation that happened forever ago. 

"And I thought you were an annoying, overprotective dad, oh wait you are," Peter shot back almost instantly, recalling the moment Tony was referring to.

"Hey-" Tony blinked, realizing what Peter had just said. He looked him over, raising an eyebrow, "There's no gun to your knee, Or head. And I don't think you're drunk. Are you drunk?"

"Oh yeah, totally had the time to chug a case of beers in the two seconds I was left alone," Peter rolled his eyes sarcastically. Then the kid stopped and scratched his head thoughtfully, “Can I even _get_ drunk? Because of my powers I mean?" 

Although he and Peter had moved almost immediately away from the previous topic of discussion, there was a smile on his face due to what the kid had said. Tony glared at him as Peter continued, "I mean, drugs go through my system faster so wouldn't it be the same for-"

Tony finally interrupted him, “We are not finding that out. Maybe when you're older.” His gaze falls on a pack of dried blueberries in Peter's hand and he scowls, snatching it away, "You stealing my snacks?"

"I was hungry. Sue me," Peter grumbles, snatching them back and pouring some into his hand before tossing them back to Tony. 

"Is nothing of mine sacred?" Tony tisked. 

Peter laughed, before he flicked his head in the direction of the door, "I don’t know about you, but I do want a cheeseburger."

"Kid after my own heart," Tony admitted. 

They walked to the cafe in content silence, and Tony handed him two after getting one for himself.

”You're not getting mine this time,” Tony warned him.

Peter snickered as he followed him down the hall. They both knew where they were going without even mentioning is. Funny enough, as they passed the elevator, it opened, a worker stepping out. He held the door for them, nodding at Tony politely, "Going up sir?"

"No, we're good thanks," Tony smiled, walking down the hallway and pushing the door to the stairs. "You better hurry up or I will shut this door on your foot," he joked, holding it open.

Peter smiled as they ran up the steps, Tony cutting in front of him at the last flight. Peter shot him a look as he reached the top landing, “Were you racing me?”

”No of course not,” Tony scoffed but after a second of silence he gave him a cocky smirk, “I was leaving you in the dust.” He opened the door to the roof. 

Peter closed it behind them and walked out, a cold breeze blowing, making his curls ruffle a bit. He rolled up the first wrapper for the burger and shoved it in his pocket, starting on the second one.

Tony walked beside him before they got to the big generator that they normally sat against and slid down to the ground, leaning back against the warm metal. They sat in silence for a minute or two, looking up at the sky. A sunset was starting on the horizon, beautifully colors splashing across the navy dark blanket that was slowly turning black.

"It's beautiful," Peter remarks, staring out at the compound that's lit up, lights shining. 

"Yea," Tony agrees with a relaxed sigh, "it is.” Then he looked over, about to ask him something when he nudged Peter's shoulder, forgetting about the wound. Peter hissed in pain and Tony jumped, putting out his hand to try and fix his mistake, "Sorry- I forgot-"

"Ah-" Peter's face slackened. "I'm just messing with you, that's my good shoulder," the teen laughed, shoving him back. 

“Screw you,” Tony shook his head then he motioned toward's Peter's opposite arm, "How is it by the way?"

"Eh, fine," Peter shrugged, leaning back against the generator. 

"Well that's convincing," Tony scoffed, giving him a look. "You been eating and sleeping enough?"

"What is this, couple's therapy?" Peter snorted. "I could ask you the same question by the way." he countered, taking a bite of his burger.

"Shut up, I have every right to be concerned because you're an idiot sometimes. And who cares about much sleep I get? I don't care about me."

"Well I do," Peter said firmly, chucking his wrapper at his face. "And if you want me to be honest, my shoulder hurts, but it's not bad. I kinda bumped it during the whole fire extinguisher fiasco."

"Define bump," Tony growled. 

"Maybe dislocated?" Peter said weakly, flexing it with a wince. "Not sure."

"One way to find out," Tony said, shifting his position. 

Peter groaned, "Oh, come on. Really?"

"Turn," Tony demanded and Peter sighed, sitting up and turning around so Tony could get behind him, putting a palm flat on his shoulder and tucking Peter's arm into his chest. "Ready? One, two- quick question. Why's the chicken cross the road?" 

"For the last time I-" Peter started before he yelped in pain as Tony popped his shoulder back into place without warning. Peter screwed up his eyes and bit his lip, exhaling sharply as he ducked his head to his chest, shoving Tony's hand off. "Ow. It's still not funny."

Tony leaned back, accomplished, against the generator, "It's funny. And prognosis is you'll live," he informed him. "You're welcome."

"Yeah, whatever," Peter groaned, testing out his shoulder, which although he would never admit it, felt much better than it had a couple minutes ago. Never mind the fact that Tony knew Peter anticipated pain, which is why he always popped Peter’s shoulder or bone back sporadically. Never mind the fact that his entire life Peter had been taught to never lower his guard but had just ducked his head down to his chest without even thinking since Tony's hand was on his shoulder. 

“We came up here the first day we met didn't we? Or the day after?" Tony asks after a second, waiting for Peter's pain level to decrease a bit. 

"Yeah," Peter recalls with a smile. "Yeah, we did. And then again when you had the panic attack."

"Uh huh- oh you mean that time when I needed to handle a personal issue and you barged in?” Tony corrected, smiling as he remembered that day.

Peter grinned, “Face it. You can’t get rid of me.”

”And I don’t want to,” Tony said truthfully. “but good _Lord_ you wouldn't _shut up._ "

"Hey, I helped!" Peter protested. 

"By punching me in the face!" Tony laughed. 

"If I remember correctly, it was a slap, and it worked," Peter grinned, settling against the generator. 

Tony leaned back with his hands behind his head, "Yeah, because you're not the best at words."

Peter scoffed, shooting upright and spluttering, "If I remember correctly, your first words ever to me were-" Peter imitated him in a mocking voice with a weird face that looked like an attempted Blue Steel. "Woah, woah, woah!"

"You were gonna kill me, you idiot!" Tony exclaimed, ignoring the impression. 

"I was not going to kill you," Peter rolled his eyes before raising an eyebrow, "And you were the idiot that wanted to play I spy in a caved in cell," Peter snickered. 

"That's enough from you," Tony demanded before he sat up in shock. "Wait, actually, I can't believe we haven't done this yet. First impressions. Go."

"You were shorter than I expected," Peter admitted, laughing as Tony glared at him.

"Wow," Tony scoffed.

"But you were my childhood hero," Peter added. "For some reason I remembered that when you walked in. I saw your arc reactor and it clicked. I- I got a little bit of my life back. You weren't afraid of me. I felt like I was talking to you...even though we didn't say anything for a good three minutes. You were the first person I trusted in nine years, and the first person I had told my name to...in a really long time." Peter rubbed his nose before launching full force into the humor, "Then you were a sarcastic jerk who's ego could have easily busted off the roof and gotten us out of that cell. And then I thought you double crossed me. So, many conflicting emotions in so little time."

"Touche." Tony gave a nod of satisfaction and then grinned, "You...shocked me. Not only because you were by far the strongest teenager I had ever met, but because I've been able to hide a lot, from a lot of people, but when I looked at you...you understood me. You read me like a book and so I decided right then that I would get you out of there if that was the last thing I did. Considered going against that word at least fifty times though," Tony admitted. "You were the first person who matched my sarcasm and wasn't afraid to throw a punch. Not just at that dude we stopped, but also at me. By the way, did you even know that guy?"

_"This way," Peter says, going left down the hall. He checks to make sure Tony is still behind him and just as he does, he sees the kid tense as if sensing something and Tony then sees an arm stick out from the hallway._

_"Peter-" he shouts and the kid tries to duck but it's too late. A man steps out, almost twice the size of Peter, decking the teen with an stiffarm to his chest. The kid falls, slamming into the ground with a groan. The hit that should have knocked him out or possibly broken ribs only winds the boy and he's already scrambling back in fear as the man towers over him. The two obviously know each other. Fury boiled in Tony's chest; after the previous behavior he had seen of Peter, he couldn't imagine what this guy had done to make the kid react in such way._

_The man doesn't pay attention to Tony, which is a mistake because with a surge of protectiveness Tony blasts his gun out of his hand and easily maneuvers in front of Peter to shield him, hitting the man in the face with a solid uppercut and blasting him down the hallway. Peter levels his arm from the floor and presses his two middle fingers to his palm. A sticky webbing shoots out just above his wrist, shooting down the hallway and trapping the man to the wall._

_Tony turns to stare at the kid at the ground who is breathing hard and he offers him a hand. Peter winces and takes it after a quick second of hesitation, allowing Tony to help him to his feet._

_"Thanks," Peter says quietly, rubbing the center of his chest._

_"Is that stuff coming out of you?" Tony marvels._

_The hallway behind them suddenly caves in, the floor tilting as the entire ground shifts._

_"Go- go- go," Tony says quickly, grabbing Peter by the shirt as he slips backward. The kid scrambles up and rounds the corner, Tony having to fire up his boosters as the floor crumbles beneath him. Peter is sprinting and Tony is flying next to him as the entire hallway caves in, the ceiling pounding down mere feet behind them._

Tony realized he shouldn't have asked that question the minute it came out of his mouth. Peter went silent and his smile wavered, like he was trying to keep it genuine but didn't have the heart. "Yeah...uh," Peter looked down before speaking quietly, "That- that was Hersh."

That was the last person Tony expected it to be. His gaze snapped over to him in shock and for a second he didn't know what to say to that. Then he lowered his voice, "You never told me that."

Peter shrugged, trying for another smile, "Well, I mean, it never really came up in conversation Tony."

Anger built in Tony's chest and he shook his head, fuming as he remembered the fear in Peter's eyes when the man towered over him, the confident exterior he had met earlier completely shattered in less then a second. Why he hadn't brought it up earlier, when he knew Peter better, he didn't know. And Tony had only punched him and blasted him into a wall. That man deserved worse. Much worse. Tony grit his teeth, "I should have-"

"Hey," Peter snapped. "You didn't know. And you weren't as protective as you are now, sheesh. Plus you had just met me. Don't go beating yourself about something you can't really help. I mean, you did blast him into a wall. That had to have hurt."

"Yeah, _after_ he decked you across the chest," Tony said angrily, crossing his arms. 

"I'm alive aren't I?" Peter pointed out, nudging him in the side. 

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "That's all that matters. Do you need a hug?" he asked innocently. 

Peter looked over and scoffed at the joke, laughing as she shoved him, "Shut up. Why do all of our talks always turn into a therapy session?" he groaned. 

"If you would stop making everything into a punchline, maybe they would be normal," Tony shot back. 

"Right back at you," Peter shot him a look. 

Tony nodded in agreement. The two returned to looking out at the night sky. The breeze rustled through the trees; Peter could hear it from that far away. The moon was competing with the dying sun, colors fading as the sky darkened with every passing second. Tony pretended not to notice when Peter moved slightly closer. And Peter pretended not to notice when Tony draped his arm behind Peter's back. 

Peter's eyes got heavy and the back of his head hit Tony's arm. The man smirked, "I didn't even steal your pillow this time."

"Shut up, I'm tired," Peter complained. Then he rubbed his eye, "I don't think we're even capable of having a normal conversation."

Tony shrugged, "It's cause you're a freak."

Peter craned his neck to look at him and scoffed, "Thanks."

"Don't worry. I'm one too," Tony grinned. 

"First dates!" May said happily, rubbing his shoulder, "I remember these. Kind of jealous. Your Uncle and I...we had a great first date."

Peter shot her a look and grinned through a slight laugh, "Wow, okay."

May laughed, "Hey, you're gonna have a great time."

Peter tugged at his button down shirt and shifted in the passenger's seat, looking at the restaurant. He glanced sideways at May, "You know, maybe I should tell her I don't feel good."

May slapped his wrist as Peter ruffled his air, messing it up. She sighed, flattening down the gelled spot for probably the eleventh time in a row. "Peter, honey, it's gonna be fine, I promise. I know it's really hard fitting in with all of your changes your body is going through, besides Spiderman of course, I don't even want to know what role that has. But it's flowering now. She likes you, you like her-"

Peter resists a laugh, biting his cheek as he looks out the window, "Uh huh. Yeah."

"You've been so stressed lately!" May shakes her head. "Have fun! Hang out with your best friend, that's all it is."

"You're right," Peter nods, taking a deep breath. "We're both friends, that's all. She's my best friend, she likes me, nothing's gonna go wrong, it's gonna be fine."

"Exactly," May nods, tossing her head towards the restaurant. "And you sure you're ok with walking home?"

"Yeah, and maybe I'll call Tony and go to the compound," Peter shrugged before he took another deep breath and set his jaw, opening the door, "Alright. I'm going. I'm going. I love you."

"I love you too," May called, "and Peter!"

Peter turned back around instantly, his voice a little higher than usual, "Yeah?"

May chuckled, "Relax. Have fun, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I will- hey- do I look ok?" Peter asked, looking down and smoothing out his shirt.

"Handsome as ever," May smiled. 

Peter breaks into a smile of relief, "Thanks May."

May waves, rolling up the window and Peter turns to face the restaurant. A car on the side of the street catches his eye but before he can get a good look, Peter hears, "Sup dork. How long have you been standing there?"

Peter whirls around and MJ is there in a cotton blue dress, her curly hair falling around her shoulders, the sides pulled up in the back. 

"About an hour," Peter grins. "You look....really pretty."

MJ raises an eyebrow, "And therefore I have value?"

Peter widens his eyes, "What? No- that's what I-"

MJ laughs and shakes her head, "I'm messing with you Pete. You look...pretty too," she gives him a shy smile.

Peter relaxes and then smirks, "I guess I clean up nice?"

"Yeah," MJ says sweetly, reaching for the door but Peter steps forward. 

"I got it," he says with a wink, "Ladies first."

"Oh, be my guest then," she snickers and Peter's mouth opens in mock surprise, letting her push it open with him as they walk in together. 

"Hey, I'm a gentleman tonight," Peter says proudly. 

MJ nods, "I could tell. Your hair."

Peter grins and messes it up with his hand, his brown curls more relaxed and normal. "Better?"

"Better," MJ agrees. They grab a booth and Peter scans the restaurant as a habit, looking around for any signs of threats until MJ taps his arm. His gaze snaps back to her and relaxes and MJ snickers, "No Scorpion here tonight idiot."

"Yeah, sorry, old habits," Peter grins shyly, grabbing a menu. His eyes skim the words and he snorts, "I can't even pronounce this stuff." 

"Sure you can, sound it out," MJ urges. 

Peter concentrates, "El-pa-chi- I don't even know what that- hey-" Peter looks up and sees MJ hiding a laugh behind a hand and grins, "You weren't even being serious."

"Of course not, I just wanted you to sound stupid," MJ admitted. 

Peter closes the menu and makes a face, "Well it worked."

MJ smiles, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Always does."

Peter shakes his head and looks down at the menu again, wondering why they had agreed to come here. This stuff was expensive, and did not look appetizing. The restaurant was nice though, and Peter didn't want to leave. The lights were warm and soft, casting shadows in the corners of the room. It was casual but the music was loud enough that you could have a conversation without whispering. The seats were even comfy.

"Well I'll tell you what..." MJ said firmly tossing her menu to the side, "I don't know about you, but I want some pizza."

"I do too," Peter admitted, starting to smile. "Why did we come here?"

"You wanted to be normal," MJ snorted. 

Peter chuckled, leaning back in his seat, "Hey!"

MJ whipped out her phone, "Face it Pete. Ok rapid fire toppings, go."

A couple minutes later, they had explained to a rather nice hostess that they just wanted some coffee, and MJ had ordered a six topping large pizza for them to share under the agreement that Peter could pay for it while she paid for the coffee. They sat smiling, chatting away, Peter feeling much more at ease. 

He was just telling her about how Ned had found out he was Spiderman when his gaze flicked to the side and he saw a man, his back facing him, scratch the back of his head and take his sunglasses off, putting them in his front pocket. Peter narrowed his eyes, trailing off, before his gaze snapped back. 

Good thing MJ was laughing because Peter did not have the appropriate expression on his face. His gaze couldn't leave the man and he sat back in his seat, "So yeah. That was not my best moment."

"I can't believe I missed that," MJ snickered before she got up, making Peter jump. "I'll be right back. You let someone steal my coat and I will kill you."

"Noted," Peter grinned as she walked towards the bathroom. Peter stood up the minute she dissapeared around the corner, his eyes on the man near the side of the restaurant. Peter walked slowly across the room, maneuvering around waiters and tables, straining his ears as he got closer. 

About halfway there Peter's face broke into a frown and he stormed forward, grabbing the man by the shoulder, "Are you kidding me?"

Tony grinned, "Hey Pete! What are you doing here?"

"Very funny," Peter frowned, motioning politely to the man Tony had been sitting with before he grabbed Tony's coat and pulled him out of the seat. 

"Excuse me," Tony called over his shoulder, forced to follow Peter to the back of the room. 

"What are you doing here?" Peter demanded, still gripping his coat once they stopped by the back wall. 

Tony pushed his hand off of him and straightened his suit, "Meeting with a business partner. Why?"

"At the exact same time and place as I have my first date with MJ?" Peter spluttered. 

"Oh, MJ's here?" Tony said innocently. "I should go say hi-"

"No- no you will not. I saw your car when I walked in, and I thought, no it can't be him. He wouldn't be insane enough to do what I think he's doing," Peter hissed. 

Tony flashed a smile and straightened his tie, "Clearly you don't know me well enough."

"I knew it was you by the way you took off your glasses and put them in your coat," Peter snapped. " _From behind._ So actually, I think I know you pretty well." Tony made a face. Peter begged, "Just leave, please?"

Tony put a hand to his heart, "I'm devastated. And no. I'm still meeting with a business partner, regardless of my ulterior motives. Besides, it's not like I'm making faces at you. Just pretend I'm not even here."

Peter glared at him. "You're impossible."

"This is true," Tony nodded before he turned Peter's shoulders around and started leading him back to his seat. "And weren't you supposed to be looking after your girlfriend's coat?"

Peter's eyes widened once he saw the empty seat and he cursed, "Oh no-" Tony snickered and grabbed it from his table, tossing it at Peter who caught it with a scowl. "I hate you. How'd you even-"

"Brat," Tony shot back, clapping him on the back. "Have fun kid."

"Yeah- yeah-" Peter heard the bathroom door open and he sprinted, hurdling a chair as he rounded the restaurant, crashing into the booth and tossing MJ's coat back into place just as she came walking back. She slid into the seat and grinned, "Hey, you didn't let my coat get stolen. You live."

"I live," Peter repeated with a grin. 

The rest of the night went really well. Their pizza came- Peter paid like he said- and MJ got the coffees. They finished off the pizza, talking about school and laughing and Peter couldn't take the smile off of his face. It reached about eight o'clock when Peter realized they had been sitting there for almost two hours. 

"Well this has been really fun," MJ nodded with a shy smile. "Are you gonna go home like a responsible person or do you have patrol?"

Peter smirked, "We'll see. I may go to the compound."

"Be safe, ok?" she said firmly. 

"What, are you worried about me?" Peter teased. 

MJ snorted, "No. But how are we going to win decathlon without you?"

"Who knows, maybe something will happen and I won't be able to make it. I'll be out fighting crime- where is it? DC? Maybe I'll have to climb the Washington monument," Peter joked before his face slackens at the thought and he shakes his head.

"You afraid of heights?" MJ teased, getting out of her seat as Peter stood as well.

"Heights? No. Climbing the pencil? Maybe a little bit. I'll have to climb the empire state building sometime," he said thoughtfully. "Just in case."

"Take a picture when you're up there," MJ requested with a wink before they started walking to the door. She put her coat on, putting her hands in her pockets before she suddenly froze. Peter stopped, his hand reaching for the door as he heard his name whispered in a low tone, "Peter...I-"

"What?" Peter turned around and saw her holding something in her hands. He immediately recognized it and his eyes widened. 

"I love it," she said happily. 

"I-I-" Peter spluttered, staring at the necklace entwined around her fingers. Luckily she was looking down when Peter realized what had happened and looked in the direction of Tony's table. The man looked behind him and winked before he gave him a thumbs up and turned around. MJ looked up and Peter smiled, stuttering, "I remember you saying your favorite flower was the Black Dahlia, because of-"

"Because of the murder," MJ finished with a light chuckle.

"Because of the murder, yeah," Peter repeated lightly, swearing he was going to kill Tony later...after thanking him. 

"Thanks Pete," she said quietly, giving him a shy smile. 

"You're welcome," Peter said happily. "I'm- I'm really glad you like it. I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah," MJ said with a grin. "And next time, I'm buying the pizza."

"Deal," Peter smiled, opening the door for her. _Next time._ "You sure you don't want me to swing you home?"

"Nice try. That's never gonna happen," MJ laughed, patting Peter on the chest. "You may not be afraid of heights, but I am. Tiny bit. You tell anyone that and I will kill you."

Peter nodded, "My lips are sealed. Bye MJ."

MJ smiled and then gave him a hug, "And if you get shot or something on patrol tonight I will be pissed."

"No getting shot," Peter promised. 

"Ok," she grinned, before she ran to get on the bus that had just pulled up.

Peter watched her go and waved, before he turned and walked back into the restaurant. He comes face to face with Tony who is standing there guiltily, smiling warily at Peter. "You gonna punch me in the face?"

"Not in public."

"Look, I know I you're probably slightly mad, but I wanted to-"

Peter walks forward, shaking his head, "You're sly, you know that? Slipping that in there?"

Tony grins, walking out with him, "What can I say? I'm amazing. Now, you coming to the compound?"

"I guess I can tolerate you for a couple more hours, yeah," Peter teased with a sigh. 

Tony put his arm around his shoulder as they walked out, turning left and walking down the street. "I totally saved your butt by the way. Some girl was eyeing that coat before I snatched it and put the necklace in. If it wasn't for me, you would have been dead because MJ would have killed you."

"She actually threatened to," Peter chuckled and Tony laughed. Then they both stopped in their tracks, Tony's arm falling from his shoulder as they looked around. "Did you hear that?"

Tony nodded and they walked quickly forward into the next alleyway. "Holy crap-" Tony ran forward. Peter followed, catching up to him as they ran to the person crying for help, on the ground at the end of the ally, a blood stain on his side. 

Tony knelt by the man's side, helping him into a sitting position, "Are you okay?"

"I- someone jumped me-" he cried out in pain.

Tony looked over, "Peter call 911." 

Peter didn't do what Tony asked. Instead he knelt as well, noticing the wedding ring on his finger. Peter narrowed his eyes and looked him in the eyes- eyes that were flicking back and forth and blinking. There wasn't enough bruising. As messed up as it was, Peter knew a thing or two about muggings. They didn't leave wedding rings, and there was much more bruising.

"Peter, what's wrong?" Tony demanded urgently.

"Tony," he said slowly, looking at him in panic, his spider senses tingling. 

"That's gonna hurt," the man croaked and Peter looked out of the corner of his eye, bringing his hand up to stop the brick someone was swinging at Tony's head. Peter caught the man's wrist as Tony jumped to his feet, immediately ducking a punch that someone else swung. Peter kicked the man in the gut and tackled the man going for Tony, slamming him into a wall and punching him in the face. Peter kicked the knee of another heading for him and backed into Tony, putting an arm out protectively, positioning himself in front with a dangerous look in his eyes. 

"Look who it is. Tony freaking Stark," one of the men snorted. 

"Live and in the flesh," Tony snarled as he and Peter were backed into the corner of the ally.

"What are you doing out here?" the man asked. 

"Saying hi to your sister," Tony spat. Peter shot him a look, cutting Tony off as he tried to regain his spot in front. These men wanted Tony, not him, and there was no way he was letting that happen. 

One of the men grinned, "I bet you've got some pockets lined with money. How about you give it all to us and maybe we won't beat you up to bad."

"How about you walk away?" Tony suggested furiously. 

The man cocked a gun, "Why, cause' you got a suit coming? Let's see who the quicker drawer is?" 

"Try it," Peter snarled, stepping forward in anger, blocking the man's shot. 

"Hey," Tony warned.

"Get out of here kid, our problem isn't with you," the man spit, not even looking at Peter. "We just want Stark," he said firmly.

"Try and take him then," Peter growled with venom, curling his fists with a daring gaze. Tony's hand clenched down on his arm and Peter fought back as he was pulled backward.

"Pete-" Tony hissed so it was inaudible to the men in front. Peter was about to turn and glare at him but that's when the man raised his gun. Tony fisted his shirt but Peter snarled, ripping out of his grasp and leaping forward. He sidestepped, hitting the man's arm and knocking the gun from his grasp. Peter caught it and tossed it behind him, Tony catching it and raising it in one fluid motion. Peter spun, hearing a shot a second later someone's gun went sliding across the floor. 

Peter had the man in a headlock and he looked back, impressed, "Nice shot."

Tony gave him a look as Peter sent his heel driving into the man's gut. Cursing, the older man rushed forward too, lunging aside and blocking a punch. Tony twisted, kneeing the man in the groin before yanking him down and firing a shot that hit the wall above another man. The dude snickered as the bullet didn't hit him and he snickered, "You missed." 

Tony grinned, shoving the other man to the side, "Did I?" The lamp on the building spluttered out as it collapsed off it's hinges and hit him on the head. Peter had swiped the legs of the other two and Tony kicked a gun away from one, pointing his at the other. 

Peter flipped, kicking a man across the head and sending him stumbling into a wall. He went in for the final blow, a kick to the back before punching him in the side. The man groaned and didn't get up. Then he spun and froze; a barrel of a gun was pointed at him from a couple feet away. The only reason he hadn’t shot him yet was because he similarly had a gun pointed at him; Tony’s arm was dangerously leveled. Tony didn't want to kill him, Peter knew that, but he was pointing a gun at Peter, so Tony would if he needed to.

"Come on dude, is this really what you want with your life?" Tony asked. "Put the gun down."

"I'll shoot him," the man swore, his grip tightening. 

"And I'll shoot you," Tony sighed, "It's a lose lose."

The gun fired and Peter jumped nimbly to the side, feeling a burn on his right arm as the bullet hit the wall behind him. He looked up in shock, clutching his bleeding arm, "You shot me!"

"Son of a-" Tony snarled and fired, hitting the man in the foot. He screamed and dropped the gun, clutching his leg as he fell to the side. "You psycho!" Tony yelled, looking back at Peter who assured Tony he was fine with his gaze.

"You shot me in the foot," the man groaned in pain, delirious. 

"Yeah, and I might shoot you somewhere else too," Tony threatened, putting his finger on the trigger but Peter put a hand on his arm.

"I'm fine," Peter insisted. "Let's just call the police and go."

Tony lowered the gun and shook his head, "Unbelievable. The people you meet!"

"We've been in this situation way too many times," Peter sighed.

Then he heard a click behind him and Peter tensed, ready to spin when suddenly a hand wrapped around his waist and pulled him in. Tony turned his back like a human shield as a high pitched whistle met Peter's ears. A suit swooped in, forming around Tony's body, the bullet bouncing off his back, Peter secure against the front of his chest. Tony spun and fired, the blast meeting it's target, shattering the gun and hitting the man's arm.

Tony let Peter go as he got out of the suit and he said firmly, "FRIDAY, call the police and make sure none of these idiots go anywhere. If they do, well... they'll find out what happens." 

Tony and Peter still had grasps on each other's jackets and they both shoved one another off as turned the corner. Just then, another suit swooped down, forming around Tony. 

"Hey, how am I supposed to get out of here then? You are _not_ carrying me like last time," Peter swore. 

"Just give it a second," Tony sighed. 

"Give what a se-" Peter's gaze snapped up as another swooped in, nearly cracking the pavement as it landed in front of him. Peter stared, "You want me to-"

"You already had a taste of it. Keep up," Tony winked, the helmet closing over his head as he blasted off. 

Peter stepped into the suit, the display lighting up, Tony's com link appearing at the side, "Oh my God- why is everything so complicated? How do you even see?" 

_"You can stay and complain and get tackled by a mob,"_ Tony suggested. _"Your choice."_ Peter cursed and fired up the thrusters, shooting into the sky, _way_ too fast. He flailed and tried to regain control, holding back a yelp. _"Flatten your hands to your sides,"_ Tony called helpfully. _"God, it's like teaching you how to drive."_

"I'll take driving over this!" Peter shouted, doing what Tony said and willing the thrusters to calm down as he swerved to avoid a building with a slight yelp. 

_"Fine, tomorrow. Driving. After school?"_ Tony asked. _"Unless you're busy with nerd club."_

"I'm not busy with-" Peter spun without meaning to, feeling his stomach flip. He gasped, "This is is so much different than swinging."

_"You do it better when you're not thinking, so how about you just don't think? Think about MJ. Tell me about your date."_

"Oh, before or after you crashed it. Don't you know all the details?" Peter scoffed, but he started to straighten out. 

_"It's not like I put a bug on you, good Lord, don't make me sound like a helicopter."_

"We ordered pizza," Peter said.

_"Very classy."_

"Shut up."

Nat stepped out onto the balcony with Clint, leaning over the railing and taking a bite of her peanut butter sandwich, offering the other half to him. The rest of the Avengers were inside, talking and laughing. She had opened the door since it was a nice night, and also since she saw Tony's Iron Man suit shooting towards them. 

Munching on her sandwich, she hit Clint on the arm after she frowned, "Am I seeing double or are there two suits?" Through the clouds, there seemed to be two dots spiraling across the sky and Nat's eyebrows knit.

Clint shoved her over, narrowing his eyes as he squinted, scratching his head, "If you're seeing double...then I'm seeing double- oh God-"

One landed perfectly on the pad on the balcony, the other flailing as he tried to straighten his arms. He missed the edge and Nat gasped. The other Iron Man suit looked like it sighed in disappointment before diving over the edge. Nat and Clint craned their necks as both burst back up. The one Iron Man suit set the other on the ground and both helmets receded. 

Nat and Clint winced as yelling filled their ears. 

"-get webs in my suit?" Tony groaned. 

"I paniced! I can't land this stupid thing!" Peter protested. 

"Oh. My. God," Nat whispered. Clint was grinning, watching the show that developed before them. 

"How'd you do it before?" Tony demanded.

"Webs!"

"So you cheated," Tony scoffed. 

"I didn't cheat! I- I'm never doing that again," Peter grumbled, shaking his arms. "How do you get it off?"

Tony who was walking calmly, scowled, "I'll leave it on if you have that attitude. You helped make those by the way."

"What the-" Clint muttered, looking at Nat for an explanation. She shook her head with a smile, crossing her arms and leaning against the rail. Neither Tony or Peter had noticed her or Clint yet. 

Peter turned and fired a blast, hitting Tony in the chest who stumbled back. Tony looked up, "Oh it's on." He fired a bigger blast, hitting Peter in the side and the kid fell to the ground, the helmet closing over his head for protection as he hit the deck. Tony walked over and offered a hand, "You done?"

By this time, the other Avengers had come to the window to watch, some even stepping out on the balcony. 

"Not quite," Peter said breathlessly, firing a blast at Tony that knocked him onto his butt. Peter grinned, looking at him from the ground. "Now I'm done."

Natasha saw a five dollar bill get passed from a pissed off Bucky to a very happy Sam as Tony shook his head. He and Peter both got up, grabbing onto each other for support before shoving each other off once they both knew the other was okay. "It's called patience Peter," Tony supplied. 

"I have been patient! You crashed my date!" Peter spluttered.

"We're still on that?" Tony sighed. 

"Still on that? It's been less than an hour. And then you go and almost get yourself shot!" Peter shouted. 

"Uh, who's the one that actually got shot?" Tony corrected, raising an eyebrow. 

"Now that- that's irrelevant," Peter shook his head. "I'm the one who can heal. If someone is gonna shoot, I'm in front!"

"That's the dumbest thing you've ever said- what are you doing-" Tony asked incredulously. Peter was waving his hands and scratching at the suit. 

"Get it off!"

"Say please!" Tony shot back. 

Peter glared at him and then said through gritted teeth, "Please." The suit receded from his back and Tony grinned. 

"Guys!" Natasha finally laughed. 

"WHAT?" Peter and Tony yelled in unison, their gazes snapping over to Nat. They saw all the Avenger snickering and Peter shoved Tony, "It was his fault."

"My fault?" Tony demanded as they both walked over to the door of the balcony. 

"Peter, what happened to your arm?" Vision asked. 

"Paper cut," Peter shot with a smirk. 

"He's an idiot, that's what," Tony hissed. 

"I can hear you, ya know," Peter narrowed his eyes. 

Tony raised his eyebrows and ruffled his hair, "Good. You should go get that cleaned up. That makeshift bandage is crap."

Peter looked at the sloppy patch up job with a web and shrugged, "Looks fine to me. By the time we get down to the med bay it will have healed anyway. It can wait _mom._ "

Tony shot him a look of death and that's when Cap stepped in. "Looking sharp kid," Steve grinned. "You have a date?"

Peter scoffed, sinking down on the couch, "Yeah, I did. First date, with my best friend. Oh you know, you should ask Tony. He was there."

Steve clasped his friend's shoulder laughing and Tony grinned, "That's another story, for another time- what movie are we watching?"

"I was thinking Ghostbusters," Rhodey shrugged. "Bill Murray cracks me up."

"I think it's PG13. You're old enough, right?" Tony teases Peter. 

"I will get that suit back on to blast you again," Peter threatened. 

"He will," Bucky sighed, "I lost five bucks to that the first time."

Peter settled down as Wanda flicked her hand forward. The remote was tossed to Vision who sent it lofting into Rhodey's lap. Clint threw the football with incredible accuracy, flicking off the lights and Sam passed the popcorn up to Peter and Tony who were sharing the massive couch with Nat and Steve. Tony got up not even a second later and Peter knit his eyebrows, "Where are you going?"

"Making you non buttered popcorn."

**Eight Years Later**

Peter presses his hand against his head, rubbing his curly hair as he sighs, "For the seventeenth time gents, I really don't give a crap about your opinion. I care about the facts. Mace, help me out here."

 _"We've had this argument for the longest time,"_ Jeffery sighed. _"If you have a problem with Stark Industries in general, you're ridiculous, the whole organization has done more for this world than anything except the Avengers. Going up against them is a dead end, and you would be dumb too. We understand your concerns but-"_

_"Concerns are hardly the word to-"_

"Idiosyncratic tendencies. I think that's a better way of putting it," Peter decided. "Maybe you need a second to look it up in the dictionary because I think those words might be too many syllables for you."

He got a text from May that read, _Hope you're doing okay. Charity event went great!_

Peter grinned and texted back, _So glad <3 Stay safe. Love you._

Then he got another text that said, _How's MJ? ;)_

Peter shook his head, _How's Happy? -_-_

 _"Something more interesting Mr. Parker?"_ someone sighed. 

Peter looked up, "Literally everything is more interesting than this, yeah. Your point?"

Mace hid a smile and then snorted at the gentlemen shooting him looks, _"Don't look at me. You expected Peter to be different than Tony?"_

 _"No,"_ a couple people grumbled.

Peter sighed, looking at the clock. "Bottom line is: You want us to change? Too bad. You want to control the Avengers? No. You _can't touch us_ , and do you want to know why? Because you are nothing without us. You need us. So sure, piss us off, go for it. You've already pissed me off," Peter dared them. "Because when you need our help, you're gonna come crying, I will bet you money on that."

Suddenly the door burst open and Peter looks over. A little girl comes running in with a Spiderman mask on and Peter catches her as she jumps into his lap. 

"Woah," he laughs, pulling the mask up so he can see her face, her static hair sticking to the material. "Hey squirt."

"Daddy says to come save you," Morgan said, looking at the men on the teleconference warily, with a glare that reminded him of Tony. They were so screwed when she took over.

"Dad said to come save me? Well that's very nice of him," Peter said, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a tight hug. "I'm saved." He gives a guilty look to his friend on screen, "If you don't mind Mace-"

 _"We can wrap this up tomorrow,"_ Jeffery nods with a smirk. 

"Thanks, man. Always love talking to you wonderful people. Your smiles brighten even the darkest-" the board members logged out of the conference call and Peter sighed, looking down at Morgan. He grinned and shook his head, "Dad was stupid putting me in charge. I wonder why he did that, huh?"

Morgan grins, grabbing his hand, "Because you're a superhero."

"Oh am I?" Peter laughs, snatching back his mask and rubbing it with his hand.

"Yeah, silly. You're Spiderman," Morgan laughed, shaking her head.

"That's right," Peter smiled. "Hey, how'd you get this anyway?"

The girl giggles, straightening her hair with her free hand. She makes a face and whispers, "Dad's lab."

Peter raises an eyebrow as they head down the steps, "You went in the lab by yourself?" Morgan grins and Peter smirks, "Your secret's safe with me. How many secrets is this now? I lost track after you took Uncle Steve's shield sledding."

They walk down the hallway, passing someone rolling a cart with a big pile of boxes- probably new parts for the lab he and Tony would tinker with. A couple seconds later Peter hears a loud bang as one falls to the floor and he winces, stopping in his tracks and dropping down slowly to one knee, ducking his head to his chest and taking a deep breath. He can't breathe. Peter squeezes his eyes shut, his teeth grinding together as he feels the familiar stinging in his head, a aching in his chest and a sharp flare of pain in his spine that would never go away-

_"I said look at me!"_

_"Are you afraid?" Hersh hissed._

_"Yes," Peter lied smoothly, resisting a wince._

_"Repeat-"_

_"You heard me," Hersh snarled angrily, punching Peter in the side and yanking his arm level again. He took the hit with a wince, despite a rib probably cracking, and barely moved his stance. His grip on the gun tightened as Hersh hissed in his ear, "Shoot. Him."_

_"You failed again," he says simply.  
_

_Peter makes out a choked, "I'm sorry."_

_"You were made to be perfect," Hersh says, stepping closer to Peter until they are face to face. He hisses, "The serum is perfect. It's you who is useless."_

_"Screw you," Peter said quietly, his eyes flashing._

_"You still have hope," Hersh said, straightening. "It's nice."_

_"You're a killer."_

_"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"_

_"If he gets up, hit him again," Hersh said._

_"When do I stop?" the guard asked, unsure._

_"When he does."_

_"SHUT UP!" Peter screamed, his vision going red, his fists balled. Hot tears formed in his eyes and he was breathing hard, filled with terrifying fury.  
_

_"There's the anger!"_

_"I'm going to kill you one day," Peter swore with venom. "And I'm going to watch you die."_

_"What, like how Miles tried to kill me?" Hersh snarled._

_BANG_

_Miles fell to the ground on his side, bullet in the middle of his forehead, right between the eyes that didn't blink again-_

_"Miles?"_

_"Hey Pete."_

_"Ben though...that just worked in our favor. I wish I could have met him Pete, he seemed like a nice guy."_

_BANG_

_"BEN! No- God- no, please no-"_

_"I'm so sorry Ben."_

_"You'll die- for that-" Peter wheezed, gripping his side in pain._

_"What were your parents names?"_

_BANG BANG_

_"They knew you wouldn't be able to stay away once the Avengers caught on. We even got SHIELD in on it. Everyone here knew you were coming. This whole operation was staged just to get to you. Separate you, and bring you here, so that you could tap into that red you hate so much. Don't you understand? HYDRA let you out Peter, to give you that life for just a couple months, to give you those memories-"_

_"I am not a piece on your frickin chess board! My life," Peter yelled, shaking in anger, "is not one of your games!"_

_"I beg to differ," Caine smirked._

_"This is the side you didn't want to see Peter. I am in your head. You still feel the old wounds, don't you? The water rushing in your ears, closing over your head. Your lungs start to burn a bit and you press your mouth shut as you try not to breathe in but it just hurts so bad and you can feel it in your nose-"_

_"I'm warning you," Peter hissed._

_"What," Caine demanded, cornering him. "What, what are you gonna do? You say you're so strong but you're not, you're too weak to fight back."_

_"One bullet Pete. You know who it's for. I told you when we first met. My brother gave you a blank, but I won't."_

_"NO!" Miles yelled weakly. "Peter don't- this is what he wants- don't let him win- you can stop him just- PETER!"_

_BANG_

_"He's the father you never had-"_

_"Peter."_

It was Tony's voice who snapped him out of it, but that was in his head; someone else was calling his name.

"Peter?" Morgan asked again.

Peter gasped; it hadn't even been a second in real time, but he had flashed through every awful moment in his life with HYDRA in less than half that. Eight years. It had been eight years and he still had panic attacks. He knew they would never go away, he knew that from the beginning, but he guessed deep down he hoped someday they would.

Peter's ears were ringing and his fist was clenched, his other hand forced open with all of his remaining strength since a six year old was gently holding it. He offered Morgan a weak smile, and she put her hand on his cheek. "Are you ok?"

Peter nodded, looking into her brown eyes that reminded him a lot of Tony and he shakily got to his feet, "Yeah, I'm okay. Let's go find Dad."

"Okay," she said happily, pulling him down the hallway to the living room. The Avengers were in there, all sprawled out along the couches and Peter shot his hand out, catching the stray football that had gotten tipped before it could hit Morgan. He tossed it back to Clint who ruffled Morgan's hair and sent it spiraling away.

Peter grinned as Morgan broke away to tackle her father in a hug; she had honed in on Tony who had his arms out.

"Hey Maguna," he scooped her up in his arms with a smile.

"Yeah, by the way dad? The board?" Peter asks with a scoff. "They suck. A lot."

"Tell me about it," Tony nods. "I hear you shut them up every time according to Mace."

"Yeah well, I guess I just have your charm," Peter sighs.

"That's my boy," Tony winks, clasping his shoulder as he walks by before raising his eyebrow and pointing to the little girl in his arms. "Just FYI? She told me she loves me 3000. Pepper and you were in the low 6 to 900 range."

"Oh, really?" Peter scoffs, walking over and sitting down on the couch. He stretches his arms up, Sam taking the opportunity to playfully fake a jab at his open chest. Peter groans and laughs as his arms shoot down, "You suck."

That's when Bucky uses the opportunity to punch Sam when he isn't looking and the two glare at each other. Peter shakes his head, laughing. Nat sinks down next to him with a phone and a pad of paper, opening a pen with her teeth. 

"Pizza tonight," Nat calls, "Toppings, shout them out. Pete, I know you want pepperoni." 

"Anchovies," Rhodey calls. 

"Get out," Nat calls back. 

"Mushrooms," Steve shouts. 

Peter makes a face, "If you want mushrooms you're gonna have to beat me in an arm wrestle. You want another rematch? Cause' last time it wasn't as embarrassing as the first time we did it." 

The rest of the Avengers whoop and Steve grins at Peter, chucking the football at him. "Respect your elders."

"Black olives," Wanda suggests and Nat nods. 

"Extra cheese!" Clint says as he passes by the couch, drumming on it with his fingers before taking his mark in the center of the room; he's playing darts with Vision, who has almost gotten better than him over the years. 

"No," Nat sighs.

"Green pepper," Pepper asks, coming in and giving Nat a hug, squeezing her shoulders. 

"Extra cheese!" Morgan shouts happily.

Nat grins. "Alright kiddo."

Clint's jaw drops and he laughs, "Are you kidding me?" Vision snickers, patting his shoulder. 

Peter smirks when suddenly Tony gets his attention and flicks his head over to the door. Peter nods and gets up, slapping the ball away from Bucky and chucking it at Steve who catches it with a whoop, teasing his friend. 

Tony sets Morgan down but she follows him as he meets Peter by the back of the room. Tony looks at her and smooths down her hair, "Hey kiddo, give me a second with your brother, okay?"

Morgan pouts, "But I want to come with you!"

Pepper scoops her up and kisses her on the cheek and soon Morgan is distracted, leaving Tony to put his arm around Peter as they walk down the hall. Tony looks sideways at him, "Little birdie told me you collapsed in the hallway after some boxes fell. You have another panic attack?"

"That traitor," Peter jokes, looking back towards the living room where Morgan has the ball and is being chased around the table. 

"I'm serious Pete. I don't have to call MJ and make her come kiss you right?" Tony jokes, squeezing his shoulder.

"She'll be here later today, don't worry," Peter slurs before raising an eyebrow, "You're funny. You know you really should quit your day job and pursue comedy," he suggests. 

"I've considered it," Tony grins. "How bad was the meeting? They budging?"

Peter shakes his head, "Torture. No, they're stubborn and it's pissing me off. Why did you even put me in charge of literally half of Stark Industries?"

"You want the sappy answer or the tough answer?" Tony asks. 

"Both," Peter laughs. 

"Tough answer is I was tired and lazy. So I tossed it over to you. Sappy answer is because I believe in you and I trust you. You're the only hands I want this company in."

"What about Morgan?" Peter asked.

Tony shrugged, "Hands are too small. But when she's older you guys can be like a sibling dynamic duo carrying out my legacy." He clasps Peter on the shoulder. "You talk to Ned?"

"Yeah, he's doing good," Peter said happily. "He really loves his new job- he got the senior manager position, did I tell you that?"

"Figured," Tony nods. "Smart kid. Shame he's not working here."

Peter laughs, "And then Flash moved into his new apartment in Brooklyn. I'm meeting up with him this weekend."

Tony sighs, "Brooklyn. Everyone from there is annoying."

"Steve's from Brooklyn," Peter laughs. 

Tony looks at him blankly, but Peter can see the humor in his gaze, "I said what I said."

"Where are we going by the way?" Peter asked. "We passed the lab a while ago."

"Somewhere we haven't been in a while," Tony said simply. A minute later they reach the steps and Peter shakes his head, grinning. They race up the stairs and Peter gets to the final landing first, looking behind him at Tony who is a little further behind. 

"Come on old man," Peter smirks. 

Tony shoots him a look, "Remember when I could leave you in the dust? I relish in that time frame of glory."

Peter waits for him, "Do you need your cane?"

"Shut up," Tony scoffs. "I don't have a cane."

"Yet," Peter grins, offering his arm. Tony makes a face and shoves him off. Peter laughs and they walk the remaining flight together. Peter pushes open the door to the roof and he and Tony step out. He closes it behind them with a well placed web and Peter can't help but smile as a cool breeze runs through his hair. "It's been a long time since we came up here."

"Too long," Tony agrees, walking over to the generator they always sat against and Peter followed him, lowering himself to the ground next to Tony and resting his hands on his bent knees. "I've got a good life, you know?" Peter starts to smirk and Tony smiles, looking down, "Just let me have this one chick flick moment, okay?"

"So do you want to...cry? Put your head on my shoulder? Break out the notebook and some tissues? What's the plan?" Peter quoted him innocently. 

Tony shakes his head, "I've got the Avengers- my best friends, an amazing suit and the best superhero name, a nice house, a wife who somehow puts up with me, two kids who I-"

Peter snaps his head to the side, "Is Pepper expecting?"

Tony looks at him with a blank expression, "You're an idiot, you know that?" Peter grins as Tony puts his arm over his shoulder. "I'm glad I met you kid."

Peter turns to look at him, "You're not dying on me or some crap right? Cause' if that's the case I will kill you myself, I swear to God-"

Tony laughs, "No kiddo. Not any time soon. You're stuck with me."

"Ugh, fine," Peter smirks. "Hey, remember the first time you taught me how to drive?"

"In the parking lot of the supermarket? When they blocked it off for repaving roads but I got us in?" Tony asked. 

Peter chuckled, remembering that before he shook his head, "No- no. I mean the first time. Back in Germany."

"Do I remember? Let's see, I remember you almost screaming the f word at the windshield wipers. And calling the gas 'the little one'. And almost killing us."

"You were bad at directions!" Peter spluttered. "Left goes left, right goes right?"

"I did not say that," Tony laughs. 

"Yes you did!" Peter trails off with a chuckle. "But I guess you were a pretty good teacher cause I got you to the hospital the day Morgan was born."

"Right you did," Tony agrees. "And you drove on that mission in Portugal, what six days after getting your license?" 

"You and I remember that experience very differently," Peter scowls. 

"I wasn't going to let anything happen to you," Tony laughs, looking over at him. "Never have, never will. That's my job, right?"

"Yeah, and vice versa when you're stupid you overprotective idiot," Peter grumbled. 

"You didn't know what you were signing up for, did you?" Tony grins.

Peter shakes his head, "No, no I didn't." They sit in silence for a tiny bit before Peter looks over, "Hey, so if we're doing a sharing session, there is something I need to say."

"You're pregnant?"

"Shut up." Peter shoots him a glare before pulling a small box out of his back pocket. Tony's eyes widen and he grins. 

"Really?"

"Yeah," Peter nods, before his phone buzzes. Tony moves his arm so Peter can answer. "Hey! Yeah, I'll be right down- I hear Morgan found you- yeah give me a sec- love you too." He hangs up the phone and stands, holding his hand out. 

Tony accepts it and Peter helps him up before they both pull each other into a hug without speaking. Peter fists Tony's shirt and tightens the embrace, closing his eyes, feeling safe as Tony clasps his shoulder. They finally break apart but Tony's hand doesn't leave it's spot on his arm. He looks at him fondly, cracking a smile before his voice breaks, "Kid..." He trails off. 

Peter smirks and shoves his arm, "I know. I hate you too."

"Brat," Tony mutters affectionately, messing up his hair before tossing the ring box back to him. Peter catches it with one hand and they both walk to the door. 

"Hey MJ," Peter grins, coming into the room and seeing his girlfriend with Morgan in her arms. 

"Speaking of the devil. Hey," she leans forward and kisses him, Morgan covering her eyes with a loud groan. MJ laughs and sets her down to give Peter a hug and another kiss. 

When they pull apart Tony gives MJ a hug and then widens his eyes, "MJ that necklace, you still have it?"

"Of course I do," she grins. "Peter gave it to me on our first date. Best day of my life. Watching him squirm in a buttoned down shirt."

Tony wiggles his eyebrows at Peter, "Gave her the necklace," he quotes. "Best day of her life. That was a great idea Pete."

Peter subtly steps on Tony's foot hard and forces a smile, "Yeah, yeah, buttoned down shirts are not my friends. Hilarious MJ. But hey, I haven't jelled my hair a day since."

"Of course not," Tony snorted, "his luscious locks cannot be tamed by- ow-"

"Oh, watch your foot," Peter says innocently, putting his arm around MJ as they walk to the kitchen.

Tony grins rubbing his foot and Morgan raises an eyebrow, her hands on her hips, "Why did Pete step on you?"

"Because your brother is a very mean person," Tony grins. 

Pepper sits down on the couch and leans over to Morgan, "Because your father teases him."

"I think mommy is right," Morgan says happily, climbing in between them as he sinks down next to Pepper. Tony's phone rings with the tune of Back in Black and as he goes to answer it Morgan starts to jump happily, humming along. "I love Led Zedlin," she whispers. 

"Zeplin," Tony instantly corrects automatically before he does a double take. "Wait- what? This is not Led Zeplin. This is ACDC- PETER!" Tony turns around to see Peter and MJ both choke on the water they were drinking and turn around. Tony shakes his head. 

Pepper is reading a book, but Tony's eyes don't leave his kid and MJ who are laughing in the kitchen. "What are you reading?" he asks absentmindedly.

Pepper flips it over as if he was looking at the title and says, "Oh, it's just a book on composting."

Tony doesn't break his stare. He mumbles, "What's new with composting?

Pepper pauses before she says, "Just-"

"He's gonna propose ya know," Tony says. Pepper's head snaps up and she shuts her book, looking at Tony and following his gaze. "Showed me the ring," Tony said happily. "Just like I showed him eight years ago."

Pepper smiles, "Aw, Tony! Peter! MJ!" she gasps. "I'm so happy for them. They're perfect."

"Yeah, he deserves a win. A big one," Tony nods firmly before his tone sobers and he shakes his head, lowering his voice so Morgan, who is pretending to read her mom's book, can't hear him. "He's still got nightmares Pepp. From what they did to him. And I wish to God he could forget it all, I do, but I know he can't. Even now, I'll come into his room at like 3 am when I'm heading to bed and he's still awake, holding that bullet and I see him as a sixteen year old kid again. I just wish I could protect him."

"You have protected him. Tony, you two are closer than anyone I've ever met. You know he would take a bullet for you, and you would do the same," Pepper reminds him.

Tony nods, "I just...feel useless sometimes. He's gotten better, but he's scarred. And that's for life. He doesn't deserve what happened to him," Tony trails off. "That's just one thing I can't fix."

"He deserved you," Pepper urged. "What if HYDRA had never taken him? He wouldn't have met you."

"He'd have his family," Tony said quietly. 

Pepper rubbed his arm and motioned around, "He's got one of those. And a father. A proud one. Who might want to go swoop in and save the day right about now-"

Peter had set the ring down on the table since he had never put it back in his pocket, totally oblivious has he dissapeared around the corner, walking down the hall and leaving MJ in the kitchen, the ring flat on the counter. Tony's eyes widened and he clambered off the sofa muttering, "Son of a-" Pepper pressed her hands to Morgan's ears who grinned. Tony smiled back sheepishly, "Sorry kiddo. That's daddy's word."

He slid into the kitchen, stopping in front of the ring just as MJ looked up. He grabbed it behind his back and shoved it in his pocket, quickly asking, "You seen Peter? I just lost him."

MJ, startled, laughs, "Yeah, he's just down the hall. He in trouble?"

"Almost. It was a close call. But no. Thanks," Tony smiles and walks forward, rounding the corner and bumping into Peter who jumps. "Idiot," Tony sighs. 

Peter raises an eyebrow, "Nu uh- you bumped into me, don't even-"

"Not about that," Tony sighs again. 

Peter looks confused and he scoffs, "Woah, you can't call me an idiot when I haven't done anything yet."

"Ok smart aleck. Where's your ring prince Charming?" Tony asks sarcastically.

Peter's hand goes to his pocket and his eyes widen as he feels it's empty. He attempts to sprint past Tony who catches his shoulders and repositions him in front of him, ignoring Peter's protests that come to a halt once he fishes the ring out of his pocket with a smile. 

Peter breaths a sigh of relief and then asks slowly, "Did she-"

"See it?" Tony grins. "No. You're welcome."

Peter snatches the ring back with a grateful smirk and Tony ruffles his hair as Peter walks by and rounds the corner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sniff* I don't want it to end. I'm honestly so sad. :( I love all of you guys thank you so much for reading and all your support- I seriously cannot thank you enough. Please let me know what you thought of the final chap- I love hearing from yall and stay sane during this crazy time in the world <3 <3  
> And REST ASSURED! I am NOT done writing. :) I have a short break to write a supernatural fic and then am diving straight back into marvel and omg I have been waiting to write this upcoming fic for so long and I will finally get to- you do not want to miss it. It is going to be hilarious and I really think you all will like it, so stay tuned for that.  
> That is all from me. I am so thankful to you all. There's sooooo much more I want to say but I'm not about to go watch the notebook. XD Stay tuned for more fics, stay healthy and safe, and seriously :) I love you all 3000


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